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"You know where the Democrats running for reelection next year stand on the deal that ended the government shutdown and raised the debt ceiling this week. You also also know where Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte stands on the deal. All four voted for it.But you\u2019d be hard-pressed to figure out where Republicans running against them next year stand on what amounted to be one of the most important votes this session and something that will certainly be discussed and debated during the campaign next year.After asking repeatedly whether 1st District Republican candidate Frank Guinta or 2nd District Republican candidate Gary Lambert would vote yes or no, their shared spokesman Ethan Zorphas responded that they were \u201Cnot commenting on hypotheticals.\u201DRepublican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Rubens took the same tactic. He issued a statement that didn\u2019t take a specific position. A Rubins spokesman said, \u201CI can't answer your question specifically, because there is not a scenario where Jim would have been dropped into the Senate right before the vote.\u201DTo be fair, Rubens says that if he were in the Senate for the past five years he would have prevented the country from getting to this point in the first place.Taking a position, apparently, is something these candidates stepping up for office believe they don\u2019t have to show voters, at least until the fall out and the polling ends. For Republican candidates, in particular, the question is tricky given that members of their party are split on the issue. Ayotte was for the bill, while Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was against it.Guinta\u2019s primary opponent, Dan Innis, sent a statement moments after the vote, but that also wasn\u2019t clear on how exactly he would have voted. When asked, though, the Innis campaign gave a simple \u201Cyes.\u201D"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wmur.com/article/gop-candidates-for-house-senate-avoiding-standing-with-cruz-or-ayotte-on-debt-deal/5185391>