Mediaquake: NH press reacts to Gov. Palin's Ayotte endorsement:

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John DiStaso, senior political writer for New Hampshire's largest and most influential newspaper, The Union Leader, updated his "Granite Status" column Monday with the news of Gov. Palin's latest endorsement:

Kelly Ayotte is officially a Sarah Palin "mama grizzly." The former vice presidential nominee endorsed Ayotte for the New Hampshire U.S. Senate seat this afternoon on her Facebook page, calling her a woman who has "broken barriers, fought off and locked up criminals, and battled all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the rights of New Hampshire parents - and won!"

DiStaso has been writing the column since 1982.

Meanwhile at the Nashua Telegraph, Kevin Landrigan also covered the major endorsement:

The Palin endorsement is a critical one for Ayotte precisely because Palin is known not as a froutrunning watcher but a kickass maverick.

She’s also one of a few movement politicians in the GOP ranks with friends among the Tea Party and fiscal/social conservative elite along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

As someone who has her full of insiders and establishment types, Ayotte more than any other candidate needed the shake-em-up pedigree that a Palin endorsement can give.

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Leave it to Palin to take for Ayotte the first shot at GOP rival and multi-millionaire Bill Binnie as well as slap back at Democratic Senate candidate Paul Hodes both of whom have run ads with contrasts or attacks against Ayotte.

Shawn Millerick at the Now Hampshire blog posted a "Hurricane Sarah Watch," but characterized the endorsement as an earthquake:

Today Sarah Palin endorsed former AG Kelly Ayotte’s senate bid, setting off an earthquake that shook the political landscape in New Hampshire. Within minutes of the endorsement, headlines started screaming on blogs and newsites on the state and national scene. Ayotte’s Democratic opponent Paul Hodes and liberal blog Blue Hampshire started hyperventilating almost immediately, while Ayotte’s GOP opponents had conniptions of their own. Ovide Lamontagne denounced the endorsement in a long, rambling statement, while a Bender spokesman tried to downplay it by saying that they may have seen something about it but deleted the email.

Regardless of your opinion on Palin, her ability to shake the political scene and suck up all of the oxygen is beyond doubt. This most certainly is a boost to Ayotte’s campaign and a blow to her GOP opponents.

Not that Gov. Palin needs any excuses to visit New Hampshire, but she will now have plenty of opportunities to do so if she chooses to actively campaign for Ayotte in the Granite State. Also, we wouldn't be a bit surprised if there will be more NH endorsements to come from the first woman to win the GOP's vice presidential nomination.

- JP