Republicans are throwing money at the New Hampshire Senate race after polls showed retired Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc within striking distance of Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in a race the GOP had all but forfeited as a missed opportunity to pick up a seat.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee will help the Bolduc campaign by spending $1 million on a new ad after the committee decided the race is within the margin of error and winnable, according to a memo Tuesday from Rick Wiley, a senior adviser to Mr. Bolduc.
Mr. Bolduc said he looks forward to welcoming the NRSC chief, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, to New Hampshire on Sunday.
An Emerson College poll on Monday showed Ms. Hassan leading Mr. Bolduc, 48%-45%, giving the GOP hope after earlier polls suggested a victory was out of reach.
“With less than two weeks to go before the November 8th general election, General Don Bolduc’s campaign is continuing to gain momentum and is well-positioned to pull off an upset win against incumbent U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan,” Mr. Wiley wrote. “The narrative that Gen. Bolduc couldn’t put this seat in play has been dispelled and Senator Hassan is feeling the pressure.”
The Senate is evenly divided, 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as a tiebreaker for Democrats, so any chance to flip a seat is precious to both parties.
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Mr. Bolduc has been a thorn in the establishment GOP’s side this year, given his views and comments. His primary win over centrist Chuck Morse left many feeling the race was lost to Ms. Hassan.
Mr. Bolduc supports repealing the 17th Amendment, which allows for the direct election of senators by the public. He once called New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, a “Chinese communist sympathizer.” He also echoed former President Donald Trump’s view that the 2020 election was stolen, though he concluded “the election was not stolen” right after winning the GOP primary.
The NRSC’s decision to invest in the race is a notable turnaround since the Senate Leadership Fund, a group linked to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, recently withdrew $5.6 million in ad reservations in New Hampshire.
Yet the main Senate GOP campaign arm is enthused by internal polling that suggested Ms. Hassan’s lead could be as little as 1 to 2 points.
“As polling shows, and Gen. Bolduc’s unmistakable energy on the ground confirms, New Hampshire isn’t just a close race, it’s a prime pickup opportunity for Republicans. Chairman Scott and the NRSC are committed to defeating Maggie Hassan and sending American hero Don Bolduc to the U.S. Senate,” NRSC spokesman T.W. Arrighi said.
Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, told The Washington Times that Mr. Bolduc’s rising fortunes are due to concerns about inflation, a general malaise about the Biden administration and a spike in local energy costs that is showing up on recent bills.
He said Mr. Sununu is on track to win reelection by 10 percentage points, which could lift Mr. Bolduc, and the general shift in Senate polls is due to Ms. Hassan’s “general weakness — not really anything Bolduc is doing.”
“He starts with 45% just for showing up,” Mr. Cullen said.
Ms. Hassan has fought back by casting Mr. Bolduc as beholden to Big Pharma and Big Oil at the expense of New Hampshire residents. She says Mr. Bolduc will threaten Medicare and Social Security and, like other Democrats, she is warning that a vote for Mr. Bolduc will result in new abortion restrictions.
The Hassan campaign on Wednesday released an ad titled “Time to Compare” that hails Ms. Hassan for voting for signature Biden legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate down the price of some prescription drugs. Mr. Bolduc in July said he would have rejected the broader tax-and-climate bill that included the drug provision.
“Standing up to anyone to lower our costs, that’s Maggie Hassan. New laws to lower prescription drug prices and cap insulin, because Hassan has the guts to take on Big Pharma and put our families first,” the ad narrator says. “But Don Bolduc? He said ‘hell no’ to supporting the new law that lowers our drug prices.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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