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New Hampshire Senate race could be key GOP pickup

Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan faces Republican Don Bolduc Tuesday in a closely-watched race that could decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate

Holly Ramer
Tuesday 08 November 2022 07:17 EST

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Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan faces Republican Don Bolduc Tuesday in a closely watched race that could decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

Flipping the seat would be a key pickup for Republicans hoping to win control of the Senate. But though Hassan has been considered vulnerable since her narrow 2016 win, her odds improved after popular Gov. Chris Sununu took a pass at challenging her, and Republicans nominated Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who has espoused conspiracy theories about vaccines and the 2020 presidential election.

Bolduc, an Army veteran who has previously run for but not won elected office, is hoping to both harness votersā€™ dissatisfaction over the economy and draw upon the connections heā€™s forged from the nearly constant grassroots campaigning heā€™s done since he unsuccessfully sought the nomination for the state's other senate seat two years ago. Everywhere he goes, Bolduc says, he hears three main complaints: inflation, inflation, inflation.

ā€œThat problem has been created by the failed policies of Joe Biden,ā€ he said during a recent debate. ā€œMy opponent has voted with him 100% of the time. I intend on going down to Washington, D.C. and reversing those policies and bringing back our livelihoods and the future for our children.ā€

Hassan, meanwhile, has highlighted her work on the bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed last year and the $280 billion package aimed at creating more high-tech jobs by boosting the semiconductor industry and scientific research. And she cast Bolduc as an extremist, pouncing on his past statements on abortion, Social Security and the 2020 presidential election.

Bolduc initially promoted Donald Trumpā€™s lies about the 2020 election but after winning the Republican primary said it wasnā€™t stolen and then, more recently, said that he wasnā€™t sure. Trump endorsed him last week, calling him a ā€œstrong and proud ā€˜Election Denierā€™."

Nearly two years after Trumpā€™s defeat, there has been no evidence of widespread fraud. Numerous reviews in the battleground states where Trump disputed his loss have affirmed the results, courts have rejected dozens of lawsuits filed by Trump and his allies, and even Trumpā€™s own Department of Justice concluded the results were accurate.

On abortion, Bolduc has gone from saying: ā€œIā€™m not going to vote contrary to pro-lifeā€ to saying he would vote against a national abortion ban.

ā€œHe has said on the record that he would never vote in Washington against anti-choice legislation,ā€ Hassan said during a debate. ā€œ(Sen.) Mitch McConnell has been pursuing a national abortion ban for decades. And Don Buldocā€™s record makes clear he would be a ā€˜Yesā€™ vote for a national abortion ban.ā€

Hassan defeated Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte in 2016 to become the second woman in American history to be elected both governor and U.S. senator, following fellow New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.

Bolduc spent 33 years in the U.S. Army, leading units in Afghanistan and commanding special forces in Africa. He lost the 2020 GOP primary to Corky Messner, who was then defeated by Shaheen. But Bolduc defeated 10 opponents in this yearā€™s primary, including state Senate President Chuck Morse, a mainstream Republican endorsed by Sununu.

Sununu ā€” who Bolduc dubbed a ā€œChinese communist sympathizerā€ ā€” dismissed Bolduc as a conspiracy theorist before the primary. But Sununu later said he would back the entire Republican ticket in the general election and that he wouldn't withhold his support over one issue.

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Follow APā€™s coverage of the elections at: https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections

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