Hassan wins critical New Hampshire Senate race

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) is projected to win a second term representing the Granite State, fending off Republican challenger Don Bolduc in a key victory for Democrats.

NBC News and ABC News both called the race.

The victory allows Democrats, whose hopes of keeping the Senate would have been diminished with the loss of the seat, some breathing room as they wait for answers in other key swing states.

Sen. Maggie Hassan’s (D-N.H.) victory gives Democrats some breathing room in their goal of retaining Senate control. (Associated Press)

Republicans had long seen New Hampshire as a prime pick-up opportunity going into 2022, but Hassan maintained a solid polling lead through much of the campaign after GOP voters nominated Bolduc, a retired Army general aligned with former President Trump.

The state’s Republican governor and other GOP moderates during the primary had voiced opposition to Bolduc, who repeated Trump’s claims about his 2020 loss and questioned New Hampshire’s elections. 

At one point this fall national Republicans withdrew funding from the campaign, seemingly writing the seat off and focusing their energies on races in Pennsylvania and Georgia. 

Hassan’s Republican opponent Don Bolduc received criticism from GOP moderates during his primary for supporting former President Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. (Associated Press)

But Bolduc tacked closer to the center during the general election campaign, the Republican establishment came to his side and polls in the state tightened considerably in the closing weeks of the campaign. That, combined with a favorable political climate for Republicans, fueled hope among some in the GOP that Bolduc could pull off an upset.

Senate Republicans’ campaign arm late last month jumped back into the race with a new seven-figure investment.

But those efforts ultimately did not pay off on Tuesday, with Republicans failing to take back the Senate seat they controlled as recently as 2017.