Don Bolduc, a retired brigadier general and election denier, secured the Republican nomination for New Hampshire’s Senate race.
Bolduc, the favorite before the Associated Press called the contest for him, will face off against Sen. Maggie Hassan in November. Hassan has a significant fundraising advantage due to the GOP’s costly primary fight.
Late in the primary campaign, outside money poured into the race, mostly in favor of his opponent, New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse. But Bolduc also received outside help, becoming the latest Republican to get outside help from Democratic-affiliated groups seeking a weaker general election opponent. Senate Majority PAC, an outside group aligned with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, spent money boosting Bolduc in hopes that he would be an easier opponent for Hassan.
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The retired brigadier general celebrated his victory late Tuesday night by brandishing a shield with arrows sticking out from it in a speech to supporters.
Although former President Donald Trump stayed out of this race, Bolduc ran to the right of Morse and has taken on more extreme positions favored by the MAGA set. He was one of 124 retired generals who signed a letter making the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen and that President Joe Biden was not legitimately elected.
Hassan is favored going into the general election, despite having lower favorability ratings than the Granite State’s senior Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
“She has always been not as exceptionally popular, even as a governor or a senator,” Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire’s polling operation, told The Daily Beast. “Not necessarily unpopular, but kind of nondescript.”
Over the past few decades, an influx of wealthy retirees with college degrees has turned New Hampshire more blue than purple, despite third term Republican Gov. Chris Sununu being the 5th most popular governor in the country, according to Morning Consult’s tracker.
The governor’s shadow loomed large over the primary after he declined a run, leaving Senate Republicans in the lurch.
“If Sununu ran, he’d have a good chance of winning… there just aren’t that many slots in New Hampshire politics,” Smith said.
