James Tobin (political Operative) - Phone Jamming Incident

Phone Jamming Incident

Further information: 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming scandal

In November 2002, Tobin was regional director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. On election day, computerized hang-up calls jammed phone lines set up by the New Hampshire Democratic Party and the Manchester firefighters' union. Over 800 phone calls were made to a get-out-the-vote phone bank over the course of two hours. This became known as the 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming scandal. The United States Senate contest in New Hampshire was between Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Rep. John E. Sununu. Sununu won by about 20,000 votes.

Tobin and NSRCC political director Chris LaCivita had worked together at DCI Group, a Washington GOP lobbying and public relations firm, along with Brian McCabe, a GOP activist who formerly worked in several roles in New Hampshire, including as a campaign manager for former U.S. Rep. Bill Zeliff. At the time, the NSRCC was chaired by then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Phone records show Tobin made two dozen calls to the White House Office of Political Affairs within a three-day period around Election Day 2002. A number of observers have noted that contact between the White House Office of Political Affairs and presidential campaign staff is historically commonplace for Democratic and Republican administrations.