In the latest sign she intends to seek another term, New Hampshire senior U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) reportedly plans to break with her party and back the Laken Riley Act when it comes to the Senate.
Shaheen, along with fellow New Hampshire Democrats Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Annie Kuster, voted against the bill last year.
On Wednesday, CNN reported Shaheen now says she is “inclined” to support the legislation. Later in the day, Fox News listed her among ten Democrats who plan to cross the aisle and back the GOP legislation.
Shaheen would not respond to requests for comment from NHJournal.
Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was murdered last February by José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, while she was jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens. Ibarra had been repeatedly arrested in the months before the murder, including an arrest for allegedly shoplifting at a Walmart in Athens just weeks before the crime.
Because the crime was a misdemeanor, Ibarra was released. The Laken Riley Act would require ICE to detain illegal aliens like Ibarra who commit theft-related crimes.
If Shaheen flip flops on this legislation, it won’t be the first political surprise in the Granite State from the Laken Riley Act. On Tuesday, newly-elected U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D) surprised many New Hampshire Democrats when she cast her first vote as a member of Congress in favor of the bill. (Rep. Chris Pappas voted in favor of the bill twice.)
Granite State politicoes continue to speculate about whether Shaheen, who turns 78 later this month, will run for another six-year term. Shaheen just became the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the first woman to hold that position. And national Democrats want her to run in order to put them in a solid position to hold the seat. If Democrats have any hope of taking back the Senate majority, they must hold seats in Trump states like Georgia and Michigan and pick up seats in places like Maine and North Carolina.
National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has already called New Hampshire one of his top pick-up targets in 2026.
Shaheen’s decision could also influence Democrats in New Hampshire’s state legislature. One of the first bills expected to be debated is a ban on sanctuary cities in the Granite State, a bill Democrats unanimously opposed in the last session. With Goodlander and Shaheen shifting toward support of increased immigration enforcement, will the entire Democratic caucus in Concord once again support sanctuary policies?
The Laken Riley Act is expected to be taken up by the Senate on Friday, which would have been Riley’s 23rd birthday.
