OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
In one of the most important Senate contests a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump has won against a Republican candidate backed by the establishment.
Retired Army brigadier general Don Bolduc defeated Chuck Morse, who was endorsed by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and heads to the November election top face
“It’s been a long night & we’ve come up short. I want to thank my supporters for all the blood, sweat & tears they poured into this team effort. I just called and wished all the best to @GenDonBolduc. The focus this fall needs to be on defeating Maggie Hassan,” Morse said on Twitter.
The general celebrated his victory and is preparing for November.
It’s been a long night & we’ve come up short. I want to thank my supporters for all the blood, sweat & tears they poured into this team effort. I just called and wished all the best to @GenDonBolduc. The focus this fall needs to be on defeating Maggie Hassan.
— Senator Chuck Morse (@Morse4Senate) September 14, 2022
“You sent the biggest signal to the establishment tonight. They are going to work for you,” Bolduc said late on Tuesday night, after declaring victory in New Hampshire’s GOP Senate primary.
“Bolduc was part of a trio of supporters of former President Donald Trump – joining Karoline Leavitt in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District and Bob Burns in the Second Congressional District – who edged out rivals backed by more establishment Republicans to secure nomination victories as the Granite State, Rhode Island, and Delaware held the final primaries of the 2022 election cycle,” Fox News reported.
“Additionally, New Hampshire was host to the final in a series of high-profile and competitive Republican primaries, which throughout the past six months have often pitted conservative candidates supported by mainstream Republicans against far-right contenders often aligned with Trump and his legions of MAGA loyalists. And while Trump uncharacteristically stayed neutral in all three federal primaries, all three MAGA-style, populist, outsider contenders in New Hampshire prevailed – in primaries where only a plurality of votes was needed to win – even as they were targeted and massively outspent by more mainstream GOP super PACs and pro-Democratic groups meddling in the Republican primaries,” the report added.
Former President Trump responded to the victory with support for his candidate.
“Nice! The ‘Trumpiest’ people ALL won in New Hampshire last night. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he said on Truth Social.
“I have taken the arrows from my fellow Republican candidates, and I’m standing strong,” the winning candidate said to his supporters. “When God made Bolducs, he made oak trees, not willow trees.”
“The reason they’re afraid of me is they can’t control me…. I scare them,” he said about the groups who spent tons of cash attempting to defeat him.
This is a campaign Republicans see as winnable and important if they want to take back the Senate.
“Maggie Hassan is in fact, one of the most vulnerable, if not the most vulnerable Democrat Senate candidate, Democrat incumbent in the country,” Danielle Alvarez of the Republican National Committee said.
“The fate of the United States Senate in some degree could rest on a campaign and a candidate named Don Bolduc,” Neil Levesque of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics said.
“He has led in the polls consistently since we really started polling in January. He announced almost immediately after losing the last election that he was running again and has been out there campaigning. Interesting thing about Bolduc is that he basically has the same themes and message as former President Trump. So, he’s connecting with sort of a segment of voters that way. But also, he has had troubles fundraising. Because he has had troubles fundraising, he’s been undervalued by the political class. And so consultants and other candidates and other campaigns have thought this person isn’t going to have a chance because they can’t raise the money. So they have largely ignored him to their own peril, really, because at this point, with just a few days left to go, Don Bolduc stands in the lead,” Levesque said.
