New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu took aim at retired Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, arguing the GOP Senate hopeful is “not a serious candidate” and would make it harder for the party to unseat Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in November.
Sununu, who is seeking reelection and decided against a bid for the upper chamber despite being urged to run by top Republicans, accused Bolduc of being a “conspiracy-theory extremist” he doesn’t believe has won the respect of most voters. He added that he hasn’t ruled out endorsing in the race but certainly will not get behind Bolduc.
“He’s not a serious candidate. He’s really not,” Sununu said of the candidate during an interview with WGIR radio. “If he were the nominee, I have no doubt we would have a much harder time trying to win that seat back. So, I don’t take him seriously as a candidate. I don’t think most people do.”
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Bolduc came under fire in 2020 for railing against masks during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and baselessly alleging that vaccines are “Bill Gates saying we should put chips inside people.” He has also gone after Sununu, accusing him of being a “Chinese communist sympathizer” before attempting to walk back the accusation.
Sununu argued that Democrats would like to see Bolduc win the GOP nomination to provide themselves with an easier path, noting the Democratic Party has attempted to boost far-right candidates to improve their odds in other races this cycle.
“Democrats are actually using Democrat donations to fund the candidacies of these conspiracy-theory extremists across the country,” he said. “If I were a Democrat, I’d be seriously angry about it, frankly, because those folks could still potentially win. Democrats could be helping give the seat, not to a more reasonable candidate on the Republican side, but to folks that carry this kind of really bizarre extremism.”
Bolduc is currently seen as the front-runner in the race, facing off against state Sen. Chuck Morse, former Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith, cryptocurrency investor Bruce Fenton, and entrepreneur Vikram Mansharamani in the battle for the GOP nomination.
“General Bolduc’s message is working. He’s meeting the voters where they are and connecting with them because he’s endured most of the hardships they have,” Bolduc senior adviser Rick Wiley told NHJournal. “He understands what they’ve gone through and can relate to their pain, and that comes from his life of service.”
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“Don Bolduc is the only candidate inspiring voters in this primary, and his common sense message has broad appeal because the hardships people have gone through aren’t partisan, but they are personal,” Wiley added.
