Exclusive – Gen. Don Bolduc Turns Down Lobbyist Cash: ‘That’s the Change We Need’

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gen. Don Bolduc told Breitbart News Saturday that he passed up thousands of dollars from Washington, DC, lobbyists in September after he won the GOP primary, drawing a stark contrast to his opponent, Sen. Maggie Hassan’s (D-NH), campaign, which is highly funded by special interests.

“I was asked to come to the table after I won the primary in Washington, DC, to sit around with these big money special interest lobbyists, and I said, ‘No, I’m not doing it.’ And you know, of course, it means a lot of money for your campaign, but that’s not what I’m driven by,” Gen. Bolduc stated.

“I’m not driven by money. I don’t wanna be owned by anybody. I want to be indebted to Granite Staters and go work for Granite Staters. And that’s the change we need. That’s been the power of this campaign, less than $500,000 to win the primary.” Gen. Bolduc explained. “I was not a “serious” candidate, and I was not a “credible” candidate because I didn’t have millions of dollars. Well, we found out the Granite Staters are looking for [political] outsiders.”

Gen. Bolduc drew a contrast between his campaign and Hassan’s. “She’s bought and paid for. She’s not gonna work for you,” he said.

“Everything that comes out of her mouth is basically a lie, or a deception, or a twist, because what do you expect?” Gen. Bolduc said. “She is bought and paid for, a rubber stamp, career politician who owns four homes from Washington, DC, to New Hampshire – is a multi-millionaire, has gotten richer down there over the last six years, is completely out of touch with the average Granite Stater.”

According to Open Secrets, Hassan has accepted $436,000 from lobbyists in the 2022 campaign cycle, from industries such as big tech, fossil fuel, and Wall Street.

Though she has been adamant about “getting big money out of politics,” she has raised over $38 million during this election cycle and spent over $38 million defending herself against surging Gen. Bolduc, who is leading in the polls with just days until election day.

Hassan ranks second in the Senate behind Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for accepting lobbyists’ cash. While Hassan has condemned the fossil fuel industry for high gas prices, she has also accepted about $16,750 in campaign contributions from Shell, Exxon, Mobil, and BP.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.