NH Candidate Binnie Brushes Off DeMint's, Palin's Picks of Others

New Hampshire Republican Senate candidate Bill Binnie says he’s not worried about endorsement snubs from Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, The Hill reports. DeMint supports conservative Ovide Lamontagne, while Palin backs front-runner Kelly Ayotte.

“I have great faith in the average New Hampshire voter just to look through it,” Binnie told The Ballot Box.

“The social issues have emerged, obviously with Jim DeMint and Sarah Palin entering the race. They have focused on those types of social issues and made an issue out of it, but I certainly have not,” Binnie said. “I think that this really is a referendum not on social issues but on the economy.”

He says has received death threats for his support of abortion.

The race for the GOP nod to retain the seat of retiring Sen. Judd Gregg for the Republican Party had developed as a duel between Binnie and Ayotte, but Lamontagne’s recent surge has muddied the predictions headed into the primary Tuesday.