President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama have remained distant from Sen. Maggie Hassan’s (D-NH) embattled campaign as it approaches the final stretch.
The absence of the two top Democrat surrogates in New Hampshire to rally support behind Hassan is noticeable. Hassan, who has voted with Biden’s agenda 96 percent of the time, does not appear eager to be seen with the president.
Biden’s approval rating in the state is 43 percent, Wednesday polling shows. Forty-eight percent disapprove.
Likewise, Obama, who is on a nationwide midterm tour, has not spent time in the Granite State defending Hassan against charging Gen. Don Bolduc, who has overtaken the incumbent by gaining 12 points in the last six weeks. Nor does it appear Obama and Hassan have any plans to appear with Hassan.
Their absence speaks to the Democrats’ fear that polarizing the electorate with Biden or Obama could hurt them and benefit Gen. Bolduc.
For the most part, Hassan appears to have taken on Biden’s strategy of hiding from the voters by failing to show at two debates and blocking conservative journalists from press events.
Hassan has opted to “run a uniquely cynical campaign build to hide her unstinting support for Biden’s liberal agenda behind tens of millions in outside campaign donations,” Patrick Hynes from New Union analyzed.
“She has closed events for a reason,” Gen. Bolduc told Breitbart News Saturday. “She communicates through newsletter and email for reasons. She doesn’t do town halls for a reason, and when she does them, they are zoom town halls. So she’s just hiding.”
The New Hampshire Senate race is one of seven Senate races that RealClearPolitics estimates as tossups. Those include Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Washington State, Georgia, and Wisconsin. RealClearPolitics projected Tuesday Gen. Bolduc will defeat Hassan.
To retake the Senate and have a one-seat majority, Republicans need to hold Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and reclaim either Arizona, Nevada, Washington State, New Hampshire, or Georgia.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.