New Hampshire Republicans Vie for Support in First Televised Debate
President Trump has yet to endorse a candidate in the important race to face a vulnerable Democratic incumbent, Senator Hassan.
New Hampshireâs Republican U.S. Senate candidates are prepping for their first televised debate Wednesday night, in a race that could help determine the balance of power on Capitol Hill and is dividing the Trump camp.
In what may be a boon to the incumbent senator, Maggie Hassan, no GOP candidate has yet emerged as the presumptive nominee with only three weeks until primary day. Considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate, Ms. Hassan has an approval rating of 42 percent, and 39 percent of registered Granite State voters think she âdeserves re-election,â according to an August 11 St. Anselm College poll. Yet the Cook Political Report now rates the seat as âlean D.â
The Supreme Courtâs Dobbs ruling has increased Democrat voter enthusiasm in New Hampshire, according to polling, and expectations of a red wave nationwide are being readjusted. The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, recently speculated that âthereâs probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate,â citing âcandidate qualityâ as the biggest factor.
His characterization could apply to New Hampshire.
In the Republican Senate primary, a retired brigadier general, Don Bolduc, has been âthe clear front-runner all along,â the director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, Neil Levesque, tells the Sun, though he says the general is âthought of by people in campaign circles as not a threat because he doesnât raise a lot of money and heâs said some pretty controversial things.â
A self-styled âoutsider candidateâ who aligns himself with President Trumpâs agenda and disputes the 2020 election results, General Bolduc commands the lead with 32 percent support among registered GOP voters, according to the most recent poll from St. Anselm College.
Yet he has had some missteps and ruffled feathers in the political establishment, such as calling New Hampshireâs governor, Chris Sununu, a âcommunist sympathizerâ during a radio interview, calling for CIA operatives on the ground in Ukraine, and saying in a debate that he favors a repeal of the 17th Amendment, which allows for the direct election of U.S. senators.
The president of New Hampshireâs senate, Chuck Morse, the so-called establishment candidate, comes in a distant second in recent polling, with 16 percent support. The former Londonderry town manager, Kevin Smith, a cryptocurrency millionaire, Bruce Fenton, and businessman Vikram Mansharamani register in the low single digits.
The race, though, is still wide open, with 39 percent of primary voters saying they are undecided.
Mr. Levesque says the upcoming debates and the possibility of endorsements from New Hampshireâs popular, moderate governor or from Mr. Trump are the only âchange pointsâ left in the weeks until primary day that could upend the race.
In a nationwide primary season defined by competitive GOP races between MAGA Republicans and establishment conservatives â often framed as a test of Mr. Trumpâs enduring popularity â the former presidentâs endorsements have helped propel several struggling candidates over the finish line. He is expected to weigh in on the New Hampshire primary, according to his former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, but the Trump-versus-establishment-conservative rubric isnât playing out as clearly in the Granite State.
A New Hampshire resident, Mr. Lewandowski is pushing hard for Mr. Trump to endorse âanyone but Bolduc,â he tells the Sun â though the general would be an obvious choice. In press interviews and an op-ed in the Daily Caller, Mr. Lewandowski is vocally opposing the general, whom he calls a âwar mongerâ and âthe exact antithesisâ of someone who follows Mr. Trumpâs America First agenda.
A former Trump adviser, Steve Bannon, is taking the opposite position. During a recent episode of his âReal Americaâs Voiceâ show, Mr. Bannon endorsed General Bolduc and dubbed the race the âWyoming of New England.â
Mr. Morse is the obvious Liz Cheney comparison.
Governor Sununu suggested recently on New Hampshire Today radio that he âmay endorse someone.â That person will likely be Mr. Morse, with whom Mr. Sununu has worked closely at the state house for years.
On General Bolduc, the governor doesnât mince words: âI donât take him as a serious candidate. I donât think most people do.â He called the general a âconspiracy theorist type.â
Mr. Morse is unexciting, a policy wonk by comparison, but his campaign is embracing the label. âHeâs a work horse, not a show horse,â a Morse campaign adviser, David Carney, tells the Sun.
Expect some fisticuffs at the debate Wednesday night. The libertarian Republican candidate, Bruce Fenton, will likely attack Mr. Morse on his record, particularly regarding Covid restrictions. Mr. Smith, attempting to revive his campaign after a lackluster performance in recent polls, will hit General Bolduc hard on some of his extreme comments. The general will attack Mr. Morse, his clearest threat.
All the candidates will attack Ms. Hassan for âreckless spendingâ in Washington, for her vote in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act and the hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents, and for her support of abortion without restrictions. Crime, border security and immigration, and âparental rightsâ in education will also feature prominently.
âWith each debate, the Republican Senate candidates get nastier and their attacks on each other get more brutal,â the New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman, Ray Buckley, tells the Sun. âI expect weâll see even more radical positions from the candidates at the Newsmax debate.â
New Hampshire holds its election on September 13, the last date in the national primary schedule. The GOP nominee will then need to pivot quickly to appeal to general election voters.
The candidate whom Mr. Trump will endorse is anyoneâs guess. Expect an audition tonight.