I've always appreciated the work of Sen. Kerry in the U.S. Senate.  He's been consistently a progressive, strong, effective voice, and we need to beat George Bush.  It's extremely important to beat George Bush.  I mean there's some great Democrats running for president now, and no matter what happens after the primary certainly we'll all unite to get George Bush out of there; there's nothing more important than that.  But I think Kerry's a strong candidate, and I think he can win.
 
 

Naida Kaen, NH State Representative from Lee, explained her support for Kerry in a couple of Dec. 31, 2003 e-mails:

As a NH State Representative I have had an opportunity to interact with many of the candidates as they have met and spoken with us personally.  I have had the most contact with Howard Dean and with John Kerry.  Based on my interaction and what I learned from other sources I decided that John Kerry can both win and would be a good President.  He listens and is willing to change his mind based on new information; that approach is essential to being an effective leader.  He also has the experience to draw on to lead the nation.  Finally, he is electable in the general election.  Without getting negative about other candidates, I will simply say he is the best bet for the people of this country.
 

I don't recall exactly the date.  I had had several encounters with Howard Dean in his visits to a coffee shop in Durham, and then to a State Rep. reception in Concord.  I later attended an open house for Kerry, in the fall, a warm rainy day, held by Beverly Hollingworth at her home in Hampton.  It was after that interaction that I decided to sign on with Kerry and did at that event.  It had more to do with how he listened and reacted and less to do with what he said that caused me to act.  I told Tim Penna, the Strafford County operative that I would officially support him at that time.
 

In any event, I did attend two Breaking New Grounds gatherings in Durham where Dean met with a small group of local Dem's...  After those encounters, I also attended a luncheon for Dean at a Concord restaurant  where possibly every Democratic politician around was in attendance.  I managed to hold up the reception line while I engaged Dean in a discussion about his economic positions.

It was after that, and it could have been June 7, when former Senator Hollingworth hosted hundreds to meet Kerry on a rainy day.  It was to have been outside, but ended up crowded into her house instead.  I was near Kerry for his address and observed as he graciously and apparently honestly,  fielded a wide range of questions from many different people.  His responses on the economic questions were also not totally to my satisfaction, but his  willingness to listen, to consider, and invite further input inspired me to support him to lead this country.  There are things I wished he'd done differently since then, but he's still the best candidate for the job.
 

Notes.
On June 7, 2003 Kerry did a house party at the home of Bill Gilligan and former state Senator Beverly Hollingworth in Hampton.

On Oct. 31, 2002 Dean campaigned with Iris Estabrook, candidate for state senate, at Breaking New Grounds coffee in Durham.