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Craig Benson

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Craig Benson (born October 8, 1954) is an American politician and businessman. Benson, a Republican, was elected governor of New Hampshire in 2002 but defeated for re-election in 2004.

Biography

Benson was born in New York City in 1954, where in his childhood he struggled with a speech impediment and severe asthma. After receiving a bachelor's degree in finance from Babson College in 1977, Benson attended Syracuse University, graduating with an MBA in 1979.

In 1983, Benson started Cabletron Systems. After taking the company public in 1989, with the largest IPO in Wall Street history, Cabletron was dissolved into four separate companies (Enterasys Networks, Aprisma Technologies, Riverstone Networks, and Global Network Technology Services) in January 2000. Within months Cabletron sold its manufacturing operation to Flextronics International for $100 million.

Benson was elected governor on November 5, 2002 in an open race to succeed the retiring governor, Jeanne Shaheen. In the primaries, Benson spent more than $9 million, most of it his own money, in an effort to defeat former state senator Bruce Keough and former U.S. Senator Gordon Humphrey to win the Republican nomination. In the general election, Benson overwhelmingly defeated Democratic state Senator Mark Fernald, receiving 56 percent of the votes while Fernald received 30 percent.

Benson's administration came under criticism for claims of corruption stemming from scandals such as the resignation of Attorney General Peter Heed and the awarding of no bid contracts to former volunteer Linda Pepin.

In the 2004 election, he lost to Democratic challenger John Lynch, only the second time in 78 years that an incumbent New Hampshire governor was denied a second term.

Benson's home is in Rye. A Catholic, he is married to his wife, Denise.

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