Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) has whined about the soaring cost of eggs while her millionaire status enables her to own four homes worth an estimated $5.5 million.
Hassan, who is married to Thomas Hassan, is more than comfortably well off. According to Open Secrets, she was worth $3,467,042 in 2018. She also owns four homes worth millions in three separate states and Washington, DC, public records show.
Hassan’s wealth has not stopped her complaining about soaring prices at the grocery store. “Inflation is really hurting Granite Staters,” Hassan told the moderator during Wednesday’s debate. “We have to work as hard as we can to lower prices in short term.”
When the moderator asked about soaring prices at the grocery, Hassan said her husband had “gasped” at the “sticker price” of eggs. Eggs prices have soared nearly 40 percent in one year, according to the Consumer Price Index.
In a debate on October 27, Hassan again complained about inflation, blaming the soaring costs on the pandemic, the Ukraine war, and corporate greed without acknowledging her fiscal or energy policies that experts suggest fueled inflation.
“Most experts say the labor shortage and the supply chain disruptions are driving it [inflation] are primarily caused by the pandemic and the [Ukrainian] war,” she said.
Once more, on October 25, Hassan noted to New York Magazine that inflation has hurt Granite State businesses and families.
“Obviously, inflation is straining families, it’s hurting people, it’s hurting small businesses,” she said. “The country has been through a lot; people have a lot of concerns.”
Hassan’s political rhetoric does not mirror her own financial situation. Hassan’s millionaire status currently allows her to maintain four separate homes in New Hampshire, Washington, DC, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
In March 2020, the Hassans purchased a condo located on 8th street in Capitol Hill for $579,900, according to the D.C. Office Of Tax & Revenue.
Since March 2015, Hassan and her husband have owned a residence in Newfields, New Hampshire. The 3,408-square foot home’s taxable value is worth at least over $600,000. The couple purchased it for over half a million.
In September 2010, the Hassans bought a 1,010-square foot condo located on Otis Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts for $515,000. Hassan’s mother reportedly lives in the condo, which has been assessed for $924,300.
Hassan also has an ownership stake in her family’s multi-million-dollar ocean view vacation residence located on Atlantic Drive in Little Compton, Rhode Island. The condo’s assessed value is $3,471,300 and sits on 2.21 acres with two buildings. The combined square footage is 3,355-square feet.
Hassan’s rhetoric and personal financial situation comes as the Democrat is challenged by Republican Gen. Don Bolduc, who has slammed Hassan’s inflationary policies by stating many Granite Staters have been prevented from purchasing a home of their own due to soaring costs.
“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,” he remarked.
The general leads Hassan by about two points despite being outspent by $9 million, according to third quarter totals.
The New Hampshire Senate race is one of about seven battleground states that will determine which party controls the Senate. To retake the chamber, the GOP needs to hold Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and retake either Arizona, Nevada, Washington State, New Hampshire, or Georgia to have a one-seat majority in the Senate.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.