Points By Drew Pritt

As details emerge that President Barack Obama may select U.S. Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) to be his new Secretary of Commerce, the gleam of a 60 seat, filibuster U.S. Senate, shines like a new penny.

The pressure is going to be on Governor John Lynch either way to name either a successor thats a Republican seatwarmer or a bona fide Democrat, who can mount a successful reelection. A reelection in the same year that Lynch himself will be seeking a fourth term….possibly against former U.S. Senator John Sununu, Jr. (R).

So who does Lynch appoint? How can he appease both sides and come out a winner? The answer is he may need to “Swett” this one out.

Specifically, Katrina Swett, wife of former U.S. Congressman and onetime U.S. Senate aspirant himself, Dick Swett (D-N.H.), and daughter of the late U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos (D-Ca.), a powerhouse himself. But Katrina Swett is no stranger to the scene herself. She ran an ill-concieved 2002 U.S. House bid that she learned a lot of lessons from. Then last year, she graciously step aside for former Governor Jeanne Shaheen (D) to have what would end up being a successful rematch for the U.S. Senate, ousting Sununu.

Katrina Swett sits on a $1.7 million war-chest, left over from that initial Senate bid. She is also, a moderate Democrat, who is a hawk on national defense and fiscally conservative. She would definitely not be in President Obama or Senate Majority Leader Reid’s hip pocket. She is more likely to vote her conscience and show an independent streak that is akin to many New England politicians.

Her bio is made for a wonderful screenplay. Not only does she have the chiseled looks of a Hollywood starlet, she is witty and just as intelligent if not more so than any senior female stateswoman. She is a first-generation American. Her parents, the late Congressman Lantos and his wife, Annette, came to America from Hungary after the Holocaust. Swett was amongst the first women undergraduates to attend Yale University. At Yale, Katrina met Richard Swett. They married in 1980. Together, they have seven children. Katrina Swett lives with her family in New Hampshire and converted to her husband’s faith, as a Mormon.

She is officially, Dr. Swett attended Yale University, graduating with a degree in Political Science. She received her Juris Doctor in 1976 after attending the University of California, Hastings College of Law. In 2006 Katrina earned her Ph.D. in History with a Focus on Human Rights and United States Foreign Policy from the University of Denmark. Her husband was also Ambassodor to Denmark, under President Clinton.

In addition to being her late father’s campaign manager, Swett has been a Congressional staffer, first as a legislative assistant and then as Deputy Counsel to the Criminal Justice, Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She co-hosted a political talk show, “Beyond Politics” on WMUR TV Channel 9 with former Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Tamposi.

Going into a 2010 Senate race, she would nearly have $2 million stored up, which would keep a potential primary challenge from Hodes or Shea-Porter and she would have the leap on any Republican, including Sununu, who might try to challenge her. Also, Lynch would earn the respect and support of women’s groups for making New Hampshire the fourth state after California, Washington, and Maine to have two female U.S. Senators serving simultaneously.

I think the answer for Lynch is Katrina Swett.

But my guesses on Gubernatorial appointments for Senate vacancies is 1 out of 4 correct so far!