Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she’s “not a big fan” of Democrats spending money in GOP primaries when asked if the strategy might backfire in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with co-anchor Dana Bash, Bash asked Klobuchar if her party deserves some blame if New Hampshire Senate Republican nominee Don Bolduc wins, since Democrats ran ads attacking Bolduc’s more moderate GOP opponent during the primary.
“I’m not going back over past strategy right now, two days before the election,” Klobuchar told Bash. “I am one that — I’m not a big fan of spending money on other candidates and messing around. I will admit that, and I have said that.”
Bolduc narrowly won his September primary against Chuck Morse, New Hampshire’s state Senate president who was endorsed by much of the state party establishment, who viewed Morse as a more formidable challenger to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).
Former President Trump had supported Bolduc, a hard-right candidate who endorsed Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud in 2020.
Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC launched a $3.2 million ad campaign targeting Morse during the primary, calling him “another sleazy politician.” The PAC contended it was simply going on offense after Morse ran ads attacking Hassan.
But Bolduc, who had previously trailed Hassan in the polls, now appears to be closing the gap as he pivots to the center on the 2020 election and other issues. The political environment shifts more friendly to Republicans, raising fresh questions about the strategy.
“I’m not going to at one moment concede this race, because Maggie has been ahead every step of the way. They know her,” Klobuchar told Bash during an appearance from the state.
Observers had seen states like Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania as this year’s closest contests, but the tightening gap in New Hampshire and Arizona could make Democrats’ path to maintaining their razor-thin majority more difficult if Republicans can pull off upset victories.
Similar to New Hampshire, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) had seen a small lead in polling prior to recent weeks, when Republican nominee Blake Masters has been gaining ground as voters express increasing worries about the economy and inflation.
On the House side, Democrats have also boosted election deniers and more conservative candidates in their primaries.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) has faced questions about his group’s ads in Michigan that likely aided Republican John Gibbs’s primary victory over incumbent Rep. Peter Meijer (R), who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.