Two years ago, though we did not always agree with his positions, the Monitor endorsed Republican Jeb Bradley over Democrat Carol Shea-Porter to represent New Hampshire's 1st District in Congress. Bradley had an outstanding record of constituent service and public accessibility. Shea-Porter, we believed, did not have the experience or depth of knowledge necessary to represent the district as effectively as the incumbent.

This year, however, our endorsement goes to the Democrat.

In her first term, Shea-Porter proved to be a quick study. She hit the ground running. She quickly became known as a friend of veterans and sponsored legislation calling for every state to have at least one full-service veterans hospital, something New Hampshire does not have. She fought to restore habeas corpus protections, to increase federal Pell Grants for needy college students and to allow Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower prescription drug prices.

Like Bradley, Shea-Porter excelled at constituent service and accessibility. She supports an end to President Bush's tax cuts, a change that would benefit the vast majority of the state's residents. She is strong on defense and serves on the House Committee on Armed Services. Her belief in the right of a woman to determine the fate of her own body is in tune with the sentiments of most of the state's residents. Meanwhile, Bradley followed his party, backed President Bush and moved to the right.

Bradley opposed an increase in the federal minimum wage that had not been raised in a decade. He is open to the partial privatization of Social Security and opposed to civil unions. He reversed his position and no longer opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Shea-Porter is on the right side of all those issues. She has proven herself to be a hardworking, effective representative who deserves another term.