New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) endorsed state Sen. Chuck Morse in the crowded Republican primary field attempting to oust Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) in November.
Sununu gave Morse the nod on Thursday, days before the Sept. 13 primary, one of the last of the 2022 cycle. The move comes as the Republican establishment rallies around Morse and after a Democratic PAC started boosting far-right candidate Don Bolduc, gambling that he would be easier for Hassan to beat in the general election.
White Mountain PAC, which is aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), has committed millions in ad spending in support of Morse.
DEMOCRATS TAKE SPOILER STRATEGY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, MEDDLE IN GOP PRIMARY
“We Republicans in New Hampshire have a very big decision to make, and we have to get it right,” Sununu said in a press conference announcing the endorsement. “We will be nominating New Hampshire’s next United States senator, and for the sake of this great state, we have to beat Maggie Hassan in November. The best candidate to do that is Chuck Morse.”
Bolduc is currently leading in the polls by more than 20 points but has a record of controversial comments about the COVID-19 pandemic and Sununu himself, calling him a “Chinese communist sympathizer” before walking back the comment. Sununu previously said Bolduc is “not a serious candidate” and “kind of a conspiracy theorist type” when declining to endorse the retired brigadier general.
“If he were the nominee, I have no doubt we would have a much harder time trying to win that seat back,” he said in August. “So, I don’t take him seriously as a candidate. I don’t think most people do.”
The Senate Majority PAC, which is closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), started running ads against Morse earlier this month, linking him to the Washington, D.C., establishment.
“Mitch McConnell’s Washington establishment is going all in for Chuck Morse, and it’s no surprise,” the ad says. “Chuck Morse took more lobbyist money than any other New Hampshire state senator. Lobbyists are even running his campaign.”
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National Democrats have engaged in a risky tactic of boosting hard-line candidates in several states, including Illinois, New York, Arizona, and Michigan, in a bid to make the general election less competitive. The strategy has sparked outrage and pushback within the party from members who fear this could lead to more extreme candidates being elected if the gamble doesn’t pay off.
The Republican nominee will have an uphill battle, with less than two months to mount a campaign directly against Hassan and her war chest.
