Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general and electoral rejector, has embraced Trump’s political stance and, as of Wednesday morning, led state Senate President Chuck Morse. If he eventually wins, he will join a list of candidates that Republicans across the country fear will fail to appeal to the wider November electorate.
The stakes are high, with the Senate winning 50-50 and Republican candidates in Arizona, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania struggling. Republicans had hoped that New Hampshire, which Hassan won by just 1,000 votes six years ago, would join the list of battleground states in November.
Meanwhile, two of New England’s most competitive House races will be on the ground on Tuesday, including one in New Hampshire where Trump’s White House aides are also repeating his lies about election fraud, The defeat of an establishment-backed candidate further complicates Republican efforts to win control of the House of Representatives.
Results of New Hampshire Senate primary still unknown
Morse has the support of the Republican establishment, including a moderate governor. Chris Sununu, and has been boosted by a super PAC allied with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that has poured more than $4 million into the campaign to try to prevent Bolduc from winning the primary.
Borduk is closely aligned with former President Donald Trump. He said he “agreed with Trump’s assessment of the 2020 election” — that is, Trump falsely claimed that President Joe Biden’s victory was due to widespread fraud.
“I signed a letter with 120 other generals and admirals saying Trump won the election, damn it, I support it,” Borduk said during a primary debate in August.
Borduk also called the Republican governor Sununu, who was a national figure trying to recruit to the race, a “Chinese Communist Party sympathizer.” He has said he would repeal the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which requires states to directly elect their senators, and raised the prospect of abolishing the FBI.
What’s missing from the New Hampshire primary is Trump. His decision not to support any candidate runs counter to what Trump has done with most Senate primaries this year.
Hassan won by just 1,000 votes in 2016, and Republicans see New Hampshire as their potential chance for control of the Senate, currently split between 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans.
Trump’s style trumps his substance in New Hampshire
Mimicking Trump’s brash style and repeating his electoral denialism in the Republican primary has once again proved more effective than accepting the political substance of his White House tenure.
Lawnmowers fully embraced every aspect of Trump’s presidency. His website is littered with defining the former president’s office, and Morse touted Trump’s support for his failed attempt to win the seat in 2020.
Rhetorically and stylistically, however, the two are quite different.
Where Lawnmower is “confident about the New Hampshire election,” Levitt said she believes “the 2020 election was unquestionably stolen from President Trump.” Where Morse suggested a hearing to determine whether President Joe Biden should be impeached, Levitt made it clear that the president should be impeached. When asked about the new coronavirus vaccine, the lawnmower said he “supports the science,” which Levitt said was “none of your business.”
Lawnmower restraint actually opened the door for people like Levitt to win New Hampshire Republican primary voters, many of whom still support the former president.
With polls showing Levitt’s rise in the final days, the Congressional Leadership Fund, backed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and outside groups like Defending Main Street have spent millions on ads hoping to help Lawnmowers defeat the right wing. challenge. But the money is mostly for no — now Republicans are saddled with a more complicated nominee in their race against the House of Representatives. Chris Pappas is one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country.
Rhode Island picks candidates in tight House race
Feng was a Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2014 and 2018, losing twice to the former governor. Gina Raimondo is doing well in areas covering the western half of the state.
Magaziner defeated Sarah Morgenthau, director of the Peace Corps Response under former President Barack Obama; David Siegel, who served in the state legislature, 2010 failed congressional elections; and Joy Fox, who served as director of communications for Langevin and Raimondo.
McGee persists in Rhode Island
But McGee, who took over as governor last year when Raimondo left to join a Biden administration, is no stranger to tough primaries — he nearly lost his chance to run for lieutenant governor in 2018.
In the end, despite pressure from a controversial federal probe into awarding state contracts to companies with ties to old allies — McKee denies any wrongdoing in the episode — he emerges from a crowded field that could benefit from an anti-incumbency vote differences between.
His closest rivals, former CVS executive Helena Foulkes and Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, both campaigned as reformers promising to clean up the government. Fox has pledged not to run for re-election without revitalizing Rhode Island schools, backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The race was a flop for progressive favorite Matt Brown, the Bernie Sanders-sanctioned former secretary of state, who trailed the leader four years after losing to Raimondo’s main challenge.