The move clearly caught the White House by surprise, and they issued this harsh statement while Obama was making a campaign-esque stop selling his stimulus package to the public:
Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.
In a conference call later that night, Gregg indicated that he will not run for reelection to the Senate in 2010.
So all things considered, this whole fiasco didn't really have any major effects regarding 2010. This seat will still be open in 2010, Rep. Paul Hodes will still run for the seat on the Democratic side and still has the backing of the party establishment, and New Hampshire's other representative, Carol Shea-Porter (D) might still make a go for it, but it is still unlikely.
Republicans still need to start their recruitment process in New Hampshire, which wouldn't have been any different had Gregg gone on to become Commerce Secretary--so they still need a candidate like former Sen. John Sununu or former Rep. Charlie Bass to make this race competitive.
The person that is perhaps most effected by Gregg's decision in Bonnie Newman, who was set to replace Gregg as a placeholder until 2010, and now won't get to be a Senator.
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