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Democrat Maggie Hassan retains her seat in New Hampshire, defeating Republican Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general.
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New Hampshire has long been regarded as a critical state for Democrats, and Hassan’s win signals a clearer path for the party to hold their majority within the Senate.
Hassan won the 2016 elections by just over 1,000 votes, but Democrats remained confident that the former governor would outperform her opponent, who has falsely claimed widespread fraud during the 2020 elections.
Leading up to the midterms, some polls indicated that Bolduc was ahead in the race, despite Hassan’s massive fundraising advantages over the Republican candidate — what analysts said was a result of inflation, crime, and rising energy costs being top of mind.
According to the BBC, voters in New Hampshire felt that Hassan was largely absent during the campaign trail. Bolduc, by contrast, appeared in many town halls and community events. In a bid to attract the state’s large number of Independents, Hassan deliberately distanced herself from U.S. President Joe Biden, promising to continue to “stand up to the president.” She has criticized Biden in the past, including his decision to remove troops from Afghanistan.