#

Democrats are mocking U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Smith over his appearance in a commercial for an education app that helps students complete their homework.

Gates MacPherson, deputy communications director for the New Hampshire Democratic Party, tweeted a screenshot of the ad Smith made for education company Brainly. 

“In addition to running as a B-tier Senate candidate, Kevin Smith is also a… paid actor, according to his personal financial disclosure, and made $900 from the New England Models Group for appearing in an ad,” MacPherson tweeted.

Smith took the Democratic Twitter snark in stride, saying he only appeared in the ad to support his daughter, who was being featured by Brainly. The ad partially deals with struggles faced by students due to classroom lockdowns — a policy promoted and defended by Democrats like U. Sen. Maggie Hassan.

“While my acting career was short-lived and in support of my daughter, Maggie Hassan’s election year act is alive and well, although widely panned by critics,” Smith said.

A wave of post-lockdown research shows critics of closing classrooms were correct: The policy took a disastrous toll on low-income and disadvantaged students but did little to stop the spread of COVID-19.

According to Smith’s campaign, his daughter Lindsay was chosen to be in the ad. COVID procedures mandated that the producers use real parents instead of actors for the parents. 

“While the Democrats and their Teachers Union counterparts were desperately fighting to keep schools shuttered, Kevin’s daughter was chosen to appear in an ad for a remote-learning education platform. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the company required actual parents to appear in the ads with their children, and Kevin was proud to support and appear alongside his daughter in that ad,” said Seb Rougemont with Smith’s team.

“As the proud father of three children in Londonderry public schools, Kevin cares deeply about their education and the education of all students across New Hampshire. Is this seriously what the New Hampshire Democrats are spending their time attacking?”

Brainly offers a peer-to-peer learning platform to support students, teachers, and parents. The company claims to have 350 million users which would make it the biggest online learning platform in the world.

Smith is running in a crowded field to challenge Democrat Hassan. While MacPherson and state Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley have slammed Smith, Senate President Chuck Morse, and retired Brigadier General Don Bolduc as “B-tier” candidates, recent polling suggests Hassan is a “C-tier” incumbent at best.

Despite her 99 percent name ID, Hassan leads Smith by just one point, 45-44 percent, according to the Granite State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. She is leading Bolduc 47-46 percent, and she is actually losing to Morse 44-46 percent.

The attack also opens the door for Smith and his fellow Republicans to hit back. President Joe Biden is imposing new rules on charter schools that will make it harder for them to accommodate more students. As the liberal New York Times reports:

“Rules proposed by the Education Department to govern a federal grant program for charter schools are drawing bipartisan backlash and angering parents, who say the Biden administration is seeking to stymie schools that have fallen out of favor with many Democrats but maintain strong support among Black and Latino families.”

Asked by NHJournal if she supports the new rules, Hassan declined to respond.

“Hassan’s flacks are attacking an education TV ad while her Joe Biden and her party bosses attack charter schools, keeping communities from getting the quality education and classrooms they need,” Smith said.

Abortion remains legal in New Hampshire up through the 24 weeks of pregnancy despite the worry that the U.S. Supreme Court is set to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.

The fallout continues from Politico’s leak of a February draft opinion in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that would overturn the 50-year-old Roe legal framework, sending the questions of abortion back to the states.

Gov. Chris Sununu, who signed into law a late-term abortion ban (it allows unrestricted abortion for the first 24 of pregnancy) said Tuesday he stands by Roe v. Wade.

“As a pro-choice governor, I am committed to upholding Roe v. Wade, which is why I am proud of the bipartisan bill headed to my desk this year that expands access. So long as I am governor, these health care services for women will remain safe and legal,” he said in a statement out Tuesday.

Last year, as the Supreme Court was hearing the arguments in Dobbs, NH Journal asked Sununu if he would take action to protect abortion rights if the Supreme Court overturned the Roe decision. At the time, Sununu scoffed at the idea that Roe was on the docket.

“I’m not really paying attention to that case,” Sununu said. “It’s not an overturn of Roe v Wade, it’s about viability.”

Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed Tuesday that the draft written by Justice Samuel Alito is authentic. However, he added early drafts are common in the Supreme Court’s work and do not necessarily reflect the final outcome. According to the draft, there are five votes in favor of reversing the controversial 1973 ruling that created a constitutional right to abortion within a complex framework of viability.

The ruling is expected to be released sometime in June, though some legal scholars are urging the court to release its decision now in response to the unprecedented leak.

New Hampshire is the only New England state that does not explicitly protect the right to abortion in state law. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island all have laws on the books affirming access to abortion. New Hampshire, on the other hand, had no restrictions on abortion at any point in a pregnancy when the new law was signed, one of the most extreme pro-abortion states in the country. Connecticut has had abortion rights as law since the 1990s, while the other states passed laws in the past three years as a hedge against a possible Roe reversal.

Now that Roe is in danger, Granite State political leaders are lining up to stake out a position. State Sen. Tom Sherman, D-Rye, who is running to unseat Sununu, sent a fundraising email Tuesday implying Sununu wants to ban all abortions.

“Gov. Sununu has already shown he can’t be trusted to stand up for women’s right to make their own medical decisions,” the email states.

Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, who has been criticized for her flip-flops on border security and oil production, stuck to the party line on abortion, saying Tuesday she supports passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that would assure women the right to access to abortion while taking away the right of states to set limits.

“The unconfirmed SCOTUS opinion would be devastating for women’s freedom,” Hassan said on Twitter. “With a woman’s right to live as a free and equal citizen under attack, Congress needs to codify Roe v. Wade now more than ever.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced plans to push for a vote on a bill that would give unlimited access to abortions and override the original Roe decision.

“This is not an abstract exercise. This is urgent,” Schumer said on Twitter. “We will vote on protecting a woman’s right to choose, and every American is going to see which side every senator stands on.”

Ian Huyett, an attorney with the Christian advocacy organization, Cornerstone, said the proposed federal legislation that Schumer and Hassan want to pass would eliminate New Hampshire’s 24-week ban.

“No state laws would be allowed except when there is no ‘less restrictive alternative’ which would advance ‘the safety of abortion services,’” he said,

State Senate President Chuck Morse (R-Salem), who is running in the GOP primary to challenge Hassan, said he would work to keep New Hampshire’s abortion law in place.

“I’m proud of my pro-life record in the New Hampshire state Senate. Last year we settled the law in New Hampshire that permits abortions in the first six months while banning late-term and partial-birth abortions in the last 12 weeks of pregnancy – a policy that the vast majority of Granite Staters support. This potential decision will have no impact on New Hampshire. We will wait to see what the Supreme Court ultimately decides, but I strongly believe that the states should have the right to govern policy in their respective states as this draft opinion would ensure,” Morse said in a statement released by his campaign.

Bruce Fenton, another GOP Senate hopeful, said he also supports the six-month ban.

“I think that the 24-week ban in New Hampshire struck a good balance in protecting the unborn without a radical expansion of state authority,” Fenton said.

Retired Gen. Don Bolduc, another GOP Senate candidate, said he supports New Hampshire’s law. Bolduc wants to see Roe overturned and have states set abortion policies.

“We must understand that this opinion does not outlaw abortion. It returns the decision to the individual states to make the decision they think is best for their citizens. Here in New Hampshire, our state has already passed its own laws well before this court decision. That is precisely how the Founding Fathers intended our constitutional republic to function.”

And former Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith, who a decade ago served as executive director of the pro-life group Cornerstone Action, said he supports “returning this matter to the state legislatures so the people in each of those states have a say in determining when it is appropriate to put reasonable restrictions in place such as New Hampshire has done on late-term abortions. Unfortunately, Sen. Maggie Hassan and the extremists in Washington support late-term abortions and taxpayer-funded abortions, and they oppose any and all reasonable restrictions on abortion. That is plainly wrong and vastly out of touch with most Granite Staters.”

Monday night’s leak could galvanize voters on either side of the question heading into the midterms. Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund Kayla Montgomery said the potential reversal of Roe represents a crisis moment.

“Elections matter. The future of reproductive rights in the Granite State depends on the election of lawmakers who will fight to ensure abortion is safe, legal, and accessible – no matter what,” Montgomery said.

However, Gallup polling over the past two decades has consistently found about 80 percent of Americans oppose Planned Parenthood’s position of abortion without restriction up to the date of birth.

And a NHJournal poll taken in December found just four percent of Granite Staters said they wanted abortion to be the top priority of President Joe Biden and the Congress.

However, a July 2o21 University of New Hampshire poll found 56 percent of Granite Staters opposed the new law while just 33 percent supported it. The legislature has since amended the law to address criticisms of specific issues such as the ultrasound mandate, changes the governor is expected to sign.

New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) said New Hampshire voters both left and right want to keep the 24-week restriction in place, no matter what the Supreme Court decides.

“In the past year, pro-choice and pro-life legislators came together to settle on a prohibition of the most extreme and unnecessary late-term abortions. Any forthcoming Supreme Court decision will not change New Hampshire’s position,” he said.

A candidate in the U.S. Senate race is out with a new ad promising to take on President Joe Biden and her fellow Democrats to lower gas prices for the average American.

No, it is not another Republican entering the crowded GOP primary, but endangered incumbent Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. Fresh off her poorly-received trip to the southern border where she was criticized for calling for more wall construction, Hassan’s new ad distances the first-term incumbent from her party and president.

“I’m taking on members of my own party to push a gas tax holiday,” Hassan says in the ad out Monday. “And I’m pushing Joe Biden to release more of our oil reserves. That’s how we lower costs and get through these times.”

Hassan’s ad is getting noticed by national political reporters who see it as another signal Democrats in competitive races will be running away from Biden as the midterms approach.

“We’ve seen plenty of ads from Republicans this election cycle seeking to pin blame on Biden and congressional Democrats for higher gas prices,” writes The Washington Post. “In a new ad from New Hampshire, Sen. Maggie Hassan, a vulnerable Democrat, has now embraced the issue, too.”

“New ad for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), who continues to distance herself from Biden ahead of November,” tweeted Natalie Allison of Politico.

And in an article headlined, “This ad tells you a whole lot about Joe Biden’s political problems,” CNN’s Chris Cillizza said notes Hassan is willing to be openly critical of the sitting president.

“[Hassan’s] message is unmistakable,” Cillizza wrote.

“1) Gas prices are a major problem in the country.
2) Biden and Democratic leaders aren’t doing enough to solve it.
3) Hassan isn’t afraid to tell her party — and her President — that they need to do better.”

Not every New Hampshire Democrat is delighted by Hassan’s campaign tactics.

“Maggie is going to lose her base if she tries to separate herself from Biden by running to his right,” tweeted state Rep. Eric Gallager (D-Concord) “Biden has been doing a much better job than she has. This has been seen most recently on Title 42 where Biden was on the right side of it, and Maggie was on the wrong one.”

Party activist Carlos Cardona dinged Hassan for her ad, saying she should be focusing on liberal priorities instead, like those found in Biden’s abandoned Build Back Better bill.

“If our Senator is serious about helping Granite Staters, she should start by not giving away money to gas companies. Pass the #ChildTaxCredit or do a form of #UBI for all  #NHPolitics,” Cardona tweeted.

Rebecca Beaulieu with the environmental activist group 350 NH said Hassan should do more to help with climate initiatives instead of helping oil companies’ profit.

“Sen. Hassan should instead be calling for a Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax: this would raise billions of dollars that could be sent to Americans to help with the costs of high gas prices. Big oil doesn’t deserve to make huge profits off the climate crisis they created. Exxon, Chevron, and other big oil companies are making huge profits because of their high gas prices,” Beaulieu said.

Republicans say they are delighted to see Hassan attacking Democrats, believing it will only discourage her party’s base without converting any independents. They note she has voted with President Biden 98 percent of the time. “Maggie Hassan’s campaign strategy is to pretend she has no voting record.  She is trying to completely remake herself in the final seven months of the race and pretend no one notices.  Well, everyone does notice and won’t be fooled so easily,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson T.W Arrighi said Monday.

Don Bolduc, one of the Republicans running in a primary to unseat Hassan, said there is no way to separate her policies from Biden’s.

“Sen. Hassan promising relief on gas prices is the equivalent of an arsonist saying they can help put out a fire. The Biden-Hassan anti-energy agenda got us here, and the only way out is sending Hassan packing” Bolduc said.

Bruce Fenton, the crypto-millionaire running in the primary, blames Hassan’s staff for the incoherent messaging, and Hassan for failed leadership.

“Her marketing consultants and handlers seem sort of all over the place, so it’s not really clear what she’s attempting to say she stands for,” Fenton said. “Her voting record speaks for itself. Politicians who support terrible policies always try to distract voters, but this won’t work this time.”

Fenton might have a point. While Hassan has recently been vocal in pushing for a gas tax holiday during the inflationary price spikes, she was also responsible as governor for saddling New Hampshire families with an additional $240 million in gas taxes since 2014. Hassan’s four cents a gallon hike, passed in 2014, added $30 million a year in new taxes. It was at the time the first increase in decades.

And Hassan has long supported restrictions on oil and gas production, including Biden’s decision to kill the Keystone XL pipeline, a move the senator continues to support.

Kevin Smith, the former Londonderry town manager in the running to challenge Hassan, said the senator keeps stealing positions from the GOP as she frantically tried to win reelection.

“If Hassan keeps trying to run from her far-left record at this rate, by the time September rolls around she will have called for the election integrity she voted against, decried the out-of-control spending she voted for, and railed against Biden’s foreign policy disasters she stood silently by. It’ll be interesting to see how her first speech at CPAC is received given her long, far-left record that runs contrary to her election-year moderate makeover rhetoric,” Smith said.

State Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem, said Hassan’s political maneuvering is obvious, and won’t fool any voters.

“Maggie Hassan votes for Joe Biden’s agenda and nominees 98 percent of the time. It’s laughable she would even try to distance herself from her best friend in the Washington Swamp with her latest gimmick ad,” Morse said. “Whenever President Biden comes to New Hampshire, she’s there for the photo-op. We need real, American First energy solutions to combat our current problems – not gimmicks from someone who did nothing while Keystone was shut down and we started funding dictators’ bloody war machines across the globe instead of producing oil in North America. When I’m in the U.S. Senate, I’ll actually take on Joe Biden and his backward energy policy head on.”

State Democratic Party leaders tried to silence members of the New Hampshire Democratic Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus who are critical of U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Chris Pappas’ right turn on immigration. 

“All of us feel like we’re tokens,” said Shideko Terai, a member of the NH AAPI Caucus. “This is not okay. You can’t use us and abuse us.”

Members of the New Hampshire AAPI Caucus planned last week to send out a statement of support for the New Hampshire Latino Caucus after members of the latter group’s executive team publicly quit in protest of Hassan’s support for a border wall, and Pappas and Hassan’s support for Title 42 immigration restriction.

“I have no patience for the shenanigans,” said Terai, who drafted the statement. “I’m aware of the wheeling and dealing in politics, but when it comes to doing what is right, they have Maggie Hassan’s reelection take precedence over the care of immigrants.”

With polls showing Hassan is headed for a loss in November she has responded by veering right, calling for additional wall construction on the southern border with Mexico. She even went to the border to film campaign videos as part of her effort.

Terai spoke with her caucus leadership, and they decided to draft a statement that leadership from all the state party constituency caucuses could sign to support the Latino Caucus leaders. Instead of unified support, Terai said, leaders of other minority caucuses tried to dissuade her from going forward.

“I was told, ‘We have to be really careful. We need Sen. Hassan’s fundraising,’” Terai recalls.

Another message sent to Terai stated that Free State libertarians will use the dissent in the Democratic Party in an effort to cement their control of the state.

“I am very cognizant that we have a really tough election to run. It will not be easy to win in November despite the fact that we have values that lift all our people up. No, the Free Staters do not lead the way but they are running our state now and if people stay home in November the Free Staters will be running our state for years to come. They are using this as a recruitment tool,” the email stated.

The state party started several constituency caucuses several years ago as a way to reach out to, and support, various groups. Aside from the Latino Caucus, and the AAPI Caucus, there is the African American Caucus, the Stonewall Caucus, the Young Democrats Caucus, the Women’s Caucus, and a Veteran’s Caucus. 

One email Terai saw sent from a prominent Democrat to another constituency caucus leader states the party needs to protect Hassan and that means silencing critics.

“Yes, I am suggesting you hold off (on the statement of support.) I think this matter needs to be addressed directly to Sen. Hassan. It doesn’t mean we don’t deal with the situation, but we should not address it in the same way we would address our opponents. We are all stewards of the Democratic Party, and we need to work through our differences,” the email reads.

Terai said another prominent caucus leader told her the party needs Hassan’s money, and criticism of the senator would have negative consequences for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) Democrats. Terai thinks, based on the flurry of activity set off when she sent the statement to caucus leadership last week, that Hassan’s team pressured the state party to stop the statement.

“That’s my suspicion. But you know, it’s just my suspicion from the flurry of emails, texts, and phone calls that I got,” Terai said.

Hassan’s team did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday, nor did a representative for New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley. Rep. Maria Perez, D-Milford, who was one of the Latino Caucus leaders who resigned from the executive team, was angered when she found out about the effort to silence the other caucuses.

“I’m going to start by saying that we’re very disappointed to learn about some political leaders calling other caucuses and asking them not to sign the letter to @SenatorHassan very disgraceful and anti-democrat from leadership! You know who you are, our silence is not an option!” Perez tweeted.

Perez told NHJournal that Hassan’s team is refusing to meet with her and other members of the Latino community. Perez has been told the senator does not have time to talk. Terai said the party needs to start listening to the minority caucus members before it is too late.

“All of us are gung-ho Democrats, but we’re not gung-ho NHDP, mostly because of the way we have been ignored,” Terai said.

The NH AAPI Caucus statement, released Thursday afternoon, requested Pappas and Hassan to change course.

“We respectfully ask Sen. Hassan and Congressman Pappas to reverse course and revoke their support of Title 42 as stated clearly by the NHDP Latino Caucus leaders. The decision of the signers of their statement to resign from the NHDP Executive Committee is a bold demonstration of staying true to the fight for immigrant justice. Our immigrant brothers and sisters seek safety and refuge and deserve to be welcomed across the southern border into the United States. President Joe Biden wants to end Title 42,” the statement reads.

Aside from Terai, signers included AAPI leaders Cora Quisumbing-King, and Sumathi Madhure; Laconia Democrats Secretary, and Latino Caucus Chair Carlos Cardona; Delegate-At-Large Jordan Applewhite with the Stonewall Dems; and Delegate-At-Large the Revs. Susan and John Gregory-Davis, co-pastors of Meriden Congregational church.

National Review magazine reported Thursday Sen. Maggie Hassan has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate donations, including cash from lobbyists. The money includes donations from lobbyists for Chinese tech giant ZTE, which is labeled a “national security threat” by the federal government.

In an article headlined “Senate Democrats Rail against Corporate Influence While Accepting Piles of Tainted Cash,” National Review lays out details of campaign contributions collected by the most vulnerable 2022 Senate Democrats, including Hassan and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock.

“New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan has frequently returned to denouncing the corrupting influence of money in politics as a campaign strategy,” they report. “She’s a supporter of the ‘For the People’ Act, which she claimed would stop ‘corporate special interests that dictate our elections’ — but she’s happy to continue to let them dictate hers for now.”

One of Hassan’s most common arguments in defense of a federal override of New Hampshire’s election laws is the need to “get big money out of our elections.” However, as National Review reports, she has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate cash from some of America’s biggest companies.

“In 2021, Hassan accepted $429,150 in contributions directly from Amazon, BlackRock, Intel, Deloitte, Barclays, Nike, and other corporate PACs,” they report. And she collected an additional $264,000 in corporate dollars filtered through other committees.

Hassan also took more than $77,000 from corporate lobbyists, among them representatives for a Chinese company the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau formally designated “a national security threat,” according to a 2020 statement from the agency.

“Notably, Hassan had no issues taking $1,500 from current and former lobbyists for ZTE: A Chinese technology company that’s been fined for exporting U.S. technology to Iran and North Korea,” National Review reports.

Ajit Pai, the FCC Chairman in 2020, said at the time ZTE had “close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military apparatus, and [is] broadly subject to Chinese law obligating them to cooperate with the country’s intelligence services.”

Hassan’s office did not deny the accuracy of the reporting when contacted by NHJournal. However, it also refused to comment on the report.

Kevin Smith is running in the GOP primary to replace Hassan, and he called her out for her lack of transparency.

“Why won’t Sen. Hassan answer questions about these donations from corporate lobbyists? If she’s getting money from Chinese companies on the ‘national security’ watch list, she has serious questions to answer. This hypocrisy is why America despises politicians,” Smith said.

And it is not just lobbyists for China who are helping fund Hassan’s campaign. According to Axios, a top lobbyist for Nord Stream 2 has maxed out his contributions to Hassan as well.

“Vincent Roberti’s firm, Roberti Global, has been paid $8.5 million for its Nord Stream 2 lobbying work, according to lobbying disclosure records,” Axios reports.

State Sen. Chuck Morse (R-Salem) is running in the GOP primary to replace Hassan,

“Maggie Hassan is always putting her special interests over New Hampshire and American interests. After taking the maximum donation from Nord Stream lobbyists last year, Maggie did no lobbying within her party to pass sanctions last month,” Morse said.

As long as Hassan declines to answer questions, expect Republicans to keep raising this issue from now until November. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has kept up a steady drumbeat of attacks on Hassan, a sign they see the seat as a potential pick-up, even without GOP Gov. Chris Sununu in the race.

“Democrats like to set rules for themselves, but they would never dare actually follow those rules,” NRSC spokesperson T.W. Arrighi said. “Criticizing corporate money in politics is a prime example as vulnerable Democrat senators like Maggie Hassan roll around in piles of corporate cash. There is no limit to what these dishonest radicals will do to deceive voters.”

State Senate President Chuck Morse is making it official, telling WMUR he’s filing paperwork this week as part of the process of entering the GOP U.S. Senate primary.

“I obviously believe that I have what it takes to win a statewide race in the state of New Hampshire,” Morse told WMUR. ”I honestly believe that I’ve done a good job in New Hampshire on reducing taxes and growing the economy. Compare that to Washington.”

The veteran state lawmaker who faced off against then-Gov. Maggie Hassan over budget and fiscal issues has been on the shortlist of likely Republicans to enter the race. The only other declared candidate is Gen. Don Bolduc who, according to Cook Political Report, “is not seen as a serious candidate.”

Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith is expected to make an announcement about his future intentions this week, and both media millionaire Bill Binnie and former Congressman Frank Guinta are also reportedly considering a run as well.

Last week the news broke that Morse had hired longtime GOP strategist Dave Carney to oversee his campaign.

“Chuck Morse is taking the next required step which is filing the FEC form 1 [statement of organization]. It allows the campaign to begin raising funds in earnest,” Carney told NHJournal. “Final pieces should be in place before he formally enters the race. Stay tuned.”

According to WMUR, “a planned major launch event at Morse’s Freshwater Farms and Garden Center in Atkinson.”

Morse, who has been a state senator since January 2011 and chaired the powerful Senate Finance Committee before becoming GOP leader, is known among insiders as a steady, hard-working if unexciting, Republican leader who knows how to raise money.

On the one hand, he’s an establishment Republican who endorsed Jeb Bush in 2016. On the other, he navigated last year’s conservative budget through the Senate and to Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk, including a ban on late-term abortions and education freedom accounts. He’s also been an outspoken opponent of government-imposed vaccine mandates and so-called “vaccine passports.”

While Morse is a veteran pol, he’s not a tested campaigner. “Chuck Morse has not faced a seriously competitive race for office — primary or general — since he entered the Senate in 2010. Now he will run in two in 10 months,” UNH political science professor Dante Scala told NHJournal. “Safe in his state Senate district, Morse has been insulated from the changes that have roiled his party in the past decade. In his first bid for statewide office, will the quintessential Concord insider find his establishment credentials a burden — especially to his fellow Republicans?”

In 2006, Morse ran for Executive Council in District three, narrowly winning a three-way primary before losing the general to Beverly Hollingsworth in a tough, #BlueWave year. 57-43 percent.

Over the weekend, Morse called out Hassan for her vote to send COVID relief checks to convicted felons in prison. One of those checks was received by Boston Marathon Bomber Dzokhar Tsarnaev.

Several GOP insiders pointed out Morse has the advantage of having “gone toe-to-toe with Hassan,” as one put it. “When she says something that contradicts her previous positions, he can say ‘Sorry, Maggie, I know your record.'”

NH Democratic Party state chair Ray Buckley took to Twitter Sunday night to attack Morse as “anti-choice” and “anti-education.”

“With Chuck Morse jumping in the Senate race, NH Republicans are going to spend the next eight months embroiled in a race to the far right that will seriously damage whoever emerges as their nominee,” Buckley said.

And the Cook Report wrote that “Morse leaves sources who talked to us the least impressed as a potential statewide candidate…who would suffer in a GOP primary as being part of the establishment.”

But with a political climate that is extremely unfavorable to Democrats — President Joe Biden hit yet another record low approval in the RealClearPolitics polling average over the weekend — a generic Republican may be all it takes to defeat Hassan. And her decision to abandon her “bipartisanship” message and embrace the AOC politics of killing the filibuster and federalizing state elections is considered a risky campaign strategy in a state where moderate Democrats have done well.

“I’m not convinced you need a rock star to win this race in 2022,” NHGOP strategist Jim Merrill told The Boston Globe.

In a way, Hassan is responsible for helping Morse achieve his highest success. She had to resign from the governorship in 2017 before Sununu could be sworn in. As a result, Morse — who has made no secret of his desire to be governor — spent about 48 hours in the job.

All the hullaballoo over West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s steadfast opposition to the Democrats’ so-called “Build Back Better” spending bill distracted from a broader point with more far-reaching implications: it never had to get this far.

Because the U.S. Senate is evenly divided 50-50, any one of the Democratic senators in Washington could have put the brakes on this disastrous spending boondoggle at any point in time, including New Hampshire’s own Maggie Hassan.

Make no mistake, this is all political. Maggie Hassan doesn’t have the will to stand up to the left-wing progressives in her party like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Granite Staters will be left holding the bag, again.

During her first five years in the Senate, Hassan has been a reliable and loyal Democratic rubberstamp. This year alone she has voted for 100 percent of the Biden agenda. Think about that for a second; failing to reign in a pandemic he promised to crush, soaring energy prices, supply chain challenges with no end in sight, a surrender in Afghanistan that turned us into a global laughingstock. Sen. Hassan has been behind Joe Biden every single step of the way.  There is not a shred of independence in her political constitution.

In doing so, Hassan has broken the promise she made to Granite State voters during her 2016 campaign. Back then, she declared, “I will never fail to stand up to leaders in my own party as I have.”

If only those words had been more than campaign rhetoric. Hassan knew what she was doing when she said them. She is well aware New Hampshire’s electorate is nowhere near as left-wing as her voting record in office. To win statewide as a Democrat you must cloak your true liberal worldview until after the votes are cast, and then hope that flashy campaign ads will help voters forget by the next election.

Last week Hassan turned heads when she came out in favor of eliminating the Senate filibuster, long a priority of her party’s restless left flank. But no one should have been surprised. After all, in her heart of hearts, Sen. Hassan is a left-wing ideologue. But above all else, she is a politician who will say or do anything to get re-elected.

That is not – nor has it ever been – my style. I am not a polished politician; I am a public servant. I spent 33 years in the military, rising to the rank of brigadier general. I served 10 tours in Afghanistan. I love this country and it saddens me our state is represented by someone who lacks political courage. These times call for it and unfortunately, Sen. Hassan has failed us as a leader.

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to recognize Joe Biden is not only out to lunch, but he’s wildly out of step with New Hampshire. Next year there is a reckoning brewing for anyone who has aided and abetted Biden’s many failures. The political tab is coming due, and Sen. Hassan is in big trouble.

Maggie Hassan is a political insider and career politician. To send her packing, Republicans need a non-establishment outsider. I’m hopeful New Hampshire voters will offer me the opportunity to be that change vessel because the status quo and the Biden-Hassan agenda isn’t working for any of us.

Sen. Maggie Hassan has touted her leadership on the newly-passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending package. But a new radio ad is calling her out for the fact her state came in ‘dead last’ in funding from the bill.

“In a split 50-50 U.S. Senate, Joe Biden needed every Democrat vote to pass his infrastructure plan. Maggie Hassan had the power to change the plan, but didn’t. She allowed it to pass with New Hampshire coming in dead last in total funding,” the ad’s narrator said. “New Hampshire got the least amount of money for projects like roads bridges, and high-speed internet.”

Listen to the new radio ad targeting Sen. Maggie Hassan here.

It is a complaint Gov. Chris Sununu has made repeatedly since President Biden signed the spending plan. “We’re 50th in the country for roads and bridges, and they’re coming to New Hampshire to tout roads and bridges,” Sununu asked when Biden came to New Hampshire last month to talk up the infrastructure spending. “And our federal delegation is taking a victory lap?”

Hassan, on the other hand, is bragging about the role she played in crafting this spending bill.

“I helped lead negotiations around this bill to make sure it responds to the pressing infrastructure needs of small and rural states like New Hampshire,” she said in a statement.

And Biden gave her a big shoutout during his visit to Woodstock, N.H.

“Maggie, you did one hell of a job because, folks, you should know that Maggie was a key player in every aspect of this law,” Biden said. “She was always making sure New Hampshire’s roads and bridges, like the one we’re standing on today, were safe, and this one is not.”

Patrick Hynes with the Independent Leadership for New Hampshire PAC running the ad says these claims are not accomplishments, they’re indictments.

“Sen. Hassan says she negotiated the infrastructure bill. She drove a hard bargain … for states like New York, California, and Massachusetts where she gets most of her money. But she left New Hampshire out in the cold. The Granite State ranks dead last in infrastructure dollars,” Hynes said. “It’s disappointing that after all the blind loyalty Hassan has shown to Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer, New Hampshire still finished dead last in infrastructure dollars. It shows where we are on her priority list.”

New polling shows America’s priority is fighting inflation, named the top concern of voters in a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll. And a Fed analysis found the Biden administration’s spending has directly added to inflation pressures. That may explain why a majority (57 percent) of voters — including 28 percent of Democrats — blame Biden.

Hynes, a GOP communications adviser, notes 85 percent of Hassan’s campaign contributions come from out of state, much of it from New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

And the ad makes a point that is all-but-certain to be echoed by Republican messaging in next year’s election: Because these bills can only pass with the support of every Democrat, Hassan is the “50th vote” on every dollar spent and every policy put in place. It will be very difficult for her to distance herself from the massive pricetags on these spending packages or individual policies like billions for EV charging stations when she literally could have killed anything she objected to with a single vote.

“Maggie Hassen could’ve gotten us more infrastructure dollars,” the ad concludes, “but she allowed us to be dead last.”

U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster stood in the White House Rose Garden Monday moments before President Joe Biden was due to sign the $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending, celebrating the spending.

“A billion dollars coming to New Hampshire for roads and bridges and highways, we’re even going to get rail back to New Hampshire,” Kuster said in a video posted to Twitter.

As Kuster spoke, the United States Marine Corps Band played “76 Trombones” from the Broadway show, “The Music Man,” about a con artist who made big promises he couldn’t keep.

Kuster and the rest of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation celebrated Biden’s signing of the bill, citing the investments in roads and bridges, as well as broadband internet for rural areas like New Hampshire, public transportation expansion, and investments in clean drinking water.

“This bill has so many elements that will be game-changers for our families and our economy,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan.

Hassan is facing a potentially tough reelection bid despite presumed front-runner Gov. Chris Sununu bowing out of the race last week. Polls show Biden’s spending package is popular, even if the president himself is not.

Rep. Chris Pappas, whose congressional career faces possible extinction thanks to Republican-led redistricting, also supported the spending plan.

“I’m pleased the president has signed this legislation into law, and I look forward to beginning the work of repairing our infrastructure,” he said.

Both Pappas and Kuster’s poll ratings dipped into negative territory in the latest New Hampshire Institute of Politics poll, a first for both of them. Pappas was at 42 percent favorable to 46 percent unfavorable, Kuster landed at 40 percent to 46 percent.

The only Democrat not facing reelection this year, Sen. Janne Shaheen, touted her role in crafting the spending legislation.

“As a lead negotiator, I fought to ensure New Hampshire priorities were front and center: that includes investments to upgrade our water infrastructure – including robust support to combat PFAS contamination – and to bring high-speed internet to every corner of our state,” she said.

Backing the nominally bipartisan infrastructure plan, which had 13 Republican House votes, is risky for the three incumbents facing voters next year. Biden is underwater with Granite State voters, according to the most recent polling data. His recent polling average is 42 percent approve/52 percent disapprove. As Gallup reports, “Currently, 34 percent of independents approve of the job Biden is doing, the lowest of his term to date. His approval among independents has fallen a total of 21 points since June, including nine points since August.”

Biden is also trying to push through his $1.75 trillion Build Back Better social safety net spending package that includes spending on daycare, cash payments to parents, and green energy policies. Given a 30 percent spike in inflation, a majority of New Hampshire voters may not want to see all of that spending. Only 37 percent of Granite Staters want the “Build Back Better” multi-trillion-dollar spending package to pass, while 40 percent would like to see both spending bills killed, according to the polls.

And a Scott Rasmussen poll taken in August, before inflation become a top-tier issue, found 59 percent of voters nationwide believe increased government spending leads to inflation. Only 14 percent disagreed.

For months, Gov. Chris Sununu kept the NHGOP frozen in place as it awaited what many had thought was his certain decision to enter the 2022 U.S. Senate race. Instead, he announced he will seek a fourth term as governor, which sent Granite State Republicans scrambling.

For the first few days, the rumor mill revolved around the “usual suspects” of potential Senate candidates, namely a trio of former U.S. senators. But Kelly Ayotte, Scott Brown, and Judd Gregg all said they’re not entering the race.

Now a new list is emerging — one that is almost certain to grow in the coming days — of potential Republican candidates. NHJournal asked 10 Republican strategists, officeholders, and activists to give their impressions by ranking the possible candidates in order of their strength. We also asked for a comment or two about the would-be contenders.

To foster brutal, intra-party honesty, NHJournal is not disclosing the names of the GOP panelists who participated.

We will be updating this list as events warrant, but here are the first NHJournal GOP Senate Primary Power Rankings:

The NHJournal GOP U.S. Senate Primary Power Rankings

1. State Sen. Chuck Morse
2. Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith
3. Commissioner of Education Frank Edelbut
4. Matt Mowers
5. Rich Ashooh
6. Bill Binnie
7. Phil Taub
8. Corky Messner
9. Tom Moulton
10. Jeff Cozzens
11. Former congressman Frank Guinta
12. Ret. General Don Bolduc

TOP TIER:

Senator Chuck Morse: Senate President Morse made the top three of all but one of the GOP panelists’ rankings. The consensus is he’s the “safe” pick for New Hampshire Republicans.

On the plus side, “Morse is the most likely to run on the Sununu accomplishments platform, which the polls show is a winner,” one Republican noted. On the less-than-plus side, “every time he has tried to go beyond Salem he flops,” said another. “Highly credible, but not really known outside of Concord and Salem.”

Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith: In what must be a surprise to nearly everyone — including Kevin Smith himself– the Londonderry town manager’s name also appeared near the top of nearly every list.

Smith hasn’t run for office since losing the GOP primary for governor in 2012, which the panelists viewed as both a strength and a weakness: Lower name ID, but also a harder target for the Hassan campaign to hit. “A star just waiting for the right moment to shine. He has a great economic development record. And he scares Democrats,” one panelist said. But another noted that, while “he’s young and ambitious, smart and well-spoken. — what has he done lately?”

Commissioner of Education Frank Edelblut: The Commissioner of Education and one-time gubernatorial candidate has made no secret of the fact that he has political ambitions. And as many of the panelists noted, Edelblut would start with the most inspired, motivated base. He would likely own the Trump/conservative lane in a primary, and that’s a pretty big lane.

But, as one panelist asked, “Has he drunk the Kool-Aid? Is it too close to the ReOpenNH crowd?” Another commented: “Edelblut owns the number one issue of the moment — education. But he snuck up on everyone in 2016. That won’t happen again.”

SECOND TIER:

Matt Mowers: Mowers is in the second tier largely because most of the panelists believe he’s going to hold onto his front-runner status in the First Congressional District GOP primary rather than risk a U.S. Senate race. “Unless one of the other candidates catches fire, he has a clear path to win the primary for CD1 and become the next Republican congressman from New Hampshire.”

Rich Ashooh: “People like him, which is why he’s near the top of the list” summarizes one view of Ashooh. “He’s conservative and he gets along with everyone.” But sources inside Trumpworld NH say Ashooh’s a non-starter for some because they believe he was less-than-loyal to the president in whose administration he served. “He worked for Trump, but his instincts are all Warren Rudman. Those days are over for the GOP.”

Bill Binnie: Anyone who can write a check for $25 million to kick-start his campaign is going to be taken seriously. And while the media magnate’s 2010 race may not have gone well (“disastrous,” one panelist calls it), that was 12 years ago. And another added: “He’s got a great story — business built from scratch, a former race car driver, it’s great. But he told it once before and it didn’t work. What’s changed?”

Phil Taub: The most volatile name on the list. Some insiders had him near the very top, others nearly at the bottom. The consensus is his fundraising is appreciated, as is his work on behalf of veterans. But he’s also described as “a moderate who endorsed Jeanne Shaheen in 2014.”

Corky Messner: He’s got millions of dollars in name ID left from his 2020 bid, and he’s been working both hard and smart for the NHGOP since losing to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen last year. However, he did lose badly and the general consensus is being the guy in front of the camera, as opposed to working for the GOP backstage, may not be his skill set.

UNKNOWNS:

Tom Moulton (NOTE: On 11/16, Moulton announced he’s not considering a run): He was the University of New Hampshire’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021 and he owns a successful company, Other than that, most of the political insiders put Moulton down as a TBD.

Jeff Cozzens: Jeff Cozzens got a lot of buzz when he entered the GOP primary for Second Congressional District and Gov. Chris Sununu promptly tweeted out his encouragement for the Littleton brewery owner’s candidacy. There are rumors the governor would be happy to see Cozzens switch and run for the Senate, and strategists say he’s got a great story to tell. But most of the panelists put him in the “wait and see” category.

BOTTOM TIER:

Former Congressman Frank Guinta: Lots of talk that former Congressman Frank Guinta is looking seriously at a run. Not a lot of talk that it’s a good idea. “A retread who lost his last race while being called a ‘Damned Liar’ on the front page of the Union Leader isn’t the answer,” said one panelist. Another added: “He’s been a D.C. lobbyist since leaving office – you can’t drain the swamp when you’ve planted your roots in it

Ret. General Don Bolduc: Phenomenal bio, horrible candidate. Short an endorsement from Trump — which is always a possibility — Bolduc’s candidacy is already over. Calling the most popular Republican in the state, Gov. Chris Sununu, a “Communist Chinese sympathizer” isn’t widely viewed as a winning strategy. One panelist called him “one of the worst candidates for major office our state has ever seen.” Plus, as one panelist put it, “He already lost to a guy named ‘Corky'”