Many undecided Granite State voters have expressed concerns about Sen. Maggie Hassan’s (D-NH) ability to fix the issues facing New Hampshire, compelling them to consider Republican candidate Gen. Don Bolduc.
Their doubt is related to the state’s unsolved challenges. The price of energy is 23 percent higher than the national average, deaths from Fentanyl have increased (135 related deaths in 2022), and inflation has soared, costing Granite Staters an extra $6,000 per year.
At Manchester’s Red Arrow Diner last week, Hassan stopped in to speak with voters. “Look, we agree on that and I hope you will consider voting for me,” Hassan told 61-year-old Kitty Fleury, who works at a gas station and lives in a motel room. The two had been speaking about rising housing costs.
After Hassan turned elsewhere to greet others, Fleury told the Keene Sentinel she was distrusting Hassan’s ability to lower costs and resolve the fentanyl crisis. “What happened to ‘By the people and for the people?’” Fleury asked. “They’re not in there for that anymore.”
“They are in there for the money,” she said behind Hassan’s back. “And I hear a lot of people talk about things they want to do, things they want to get, but then when they get in there, if they get in there, nothing’s ever done.”
Democrat voter Nancy Smith, who lives in Londonderry and recently attended a town hall of Republican challenger Gen. Don Bolduc, expressed she was an undecided voter because of her disappointment with President Joe Biden, who she considered a failure.
“Everybody lies: So who is telling the truth?” Smith questioned Hassan’s promises of reducing inflation. Hassan has voted 96 percent in support of Biden’s policies.
Undecided voter Steve Gauthier, 71, who has worked as a union member at General Electric for three decades, expressed concerns that Hassan has not prioritized American citizens, who are struggling with surging energy prices.
“I see her commercials, and I see their commercials,” he told Keene Sentinel. “It’s like, ‘Please, what about us? What about the citizens of the country?’ We are the ones suffering from all of these decisions, Whoever they are, all of those decisions are costing us.”
While Gauthier, Smith, and Fleury were hesitant about Hassan, Patrick Ledbetter, a Vietnam veteran, told CBS News he plans to cast his vote for Bolduc.
“The big issue is the economy, and the second big issue is the border,” Ledbetter said.
Hassan’s fiscal and illegal immigration record is notable.
Over the last two years, Hassan has voted for inflation-fueling, soft-on-crime, and open border policies. She voted for felons to receive coronavirus stimulus checks, the $1.9 trillion for coronavirus stimulus, and the “Inflation Reduction Act. Over 230 economists warned the so-called Inflation Reduction Act will exacerbate inflation.
Hassan has also voted against Republican efforts to force a vote on an amendment to a coronavirus bill to reinstate Title 42 restrictions. Moreover, she has refused to oppose the Biden administration’s “catch and release” illegal immigration policy, along with opposing former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which Biden ended.
In Wednesday’s debate, Gen. Bolduc noted Hassan’s voting record. “Her votes in the Senate have caused this heating and eating issue that we have,” Gen. Bolduc said soaring costs. “She has created it by her 100 percent support of Joe Biden’s failed policies.”
When the moderator asked about soaring prices at the grocery, Hassan said her husband “gasped” at the sticker price for eggs. Gen. Bolduc responded that “she should gasp at it.”
“That’s her fault,” Gen. Bolduc said about inflation. “You can’t even buy a house, you can’t even rent property, you can’t even feed your children, you can’t even heat your home. That is the ultimate tax.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.