Dem Senate candidate refuses to say Clinton is honest
New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat running for the Senate, repeatedly sidestepped questions on Tuesday about whether she thinks Hillary Clinton is honest or trustworthy.
“I support Hillary Clinton for the presidency because her experience and her record demonstrate that she’s qualified to hold the job,” Hassan told CNN in response to a question about whether the Democratic presidential nominee is “honest and trustworthy.”
{mosads}Pressed two more times by CNN’s Manu Raju on whether Clinton is honest or trustworthy, Hassan referred to Clinton’s plans to make college more affordable and her “commitment always to something beyond herself, bigger than herself.”
Hassan’s campaign later told CNN that she believes Clinton — who she endorsed last year — is honest. But Republicans have seized on her televised comments.
Amelia Chassé, press secretary for the conservative America Rising PAC, said Hassan had a “meltdown.”
“Clearly Secretary Clinton’s untrustworthy rating is so toxic that Governor Hassan cannot or will not address it, even after she defied the will of New Hampshire voters by acting as a Clinton super delegate,” she said in a statement.
Liz Johnson, a spokeswoman for Hassan’s GOP opponent, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, added that the remarks are the “latest proof that Hassan will not be an independent voice for New Hampshire, because she is more concerned with staying on script than being upfront with voters.”
Ayotte says that voters should reelect her because she’s independent and would be a check on a president from either party.
The two are in a tossup Senate race, with Hassan currently leading Ayotte by 1 point in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.
Republicans are defending 24 Senate seats. Democrats need to net five — or four if they retain the White House — to take back control of the Senate.
Republicans have focused on Clinton’s character after her controversial decision to use a private email server when she was secretary of State. According to a CNN/ORC poll released earlier this month, roughly one-third of voters think Clinton is honest and trustworthy.
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