Embattled Guinta’s primary challenger concedes

Embattled Rep. Frank Guinta’s primary challenger conceded the race Wednesday morning, with more than 600 votes separating the New Hampshire Republicans.

{mosads}Businessman Rich Ashooh released a statement Wednesday acknowledging that Guinta’s lead had increased by several hundred votes since Tuesday night and saying he’ll concede “so that the Republican ticket may immediately position itself for victory in November,” according to WCVB-TV in Boston.

The Associated Press hadn’t called the race at 11 a.m., though its tally shows Guinta leading by 643 votes.

Guinta appears to have survived the tight primary challenge, overcoming campaign finance woes that loomed large over his reelection campaign.

Last year, the Federal Election Commission found that Guinta violated campaign finance laws by accepting more than $350,000 in checks from his parents, which he used as a loan to his campaign.

New Hampshire Republicans including Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who won her primary easily Tuesday night, had called on him to resign, and a WMUR Granite State poll in October 2015 found that about half of his constituents wanted him to do so. But Guinta’s numbers improved in an April version of the same survey.

Guinta will now face former Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) in the general election for his swing seat, which is one of House Democrats’ biggest pickup opportunities this cycle.

This will be their fourth rematch. Guinta took the seat from Shea-Porter in 2010. He then lost the seat to her in 2012, before reclaiming it from her again in 2014.

Shea-Porter goes into the matchup with a huge advantage in name recognition in the district. Democrats are hoping to pick up the seat in their uphill battle to flip 30 House seats to regain control of the lower chamber.