By HOLLY RAMER Related Press
CONCORD, NH (AP) — Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan defended her comparatively closed strategy to campaigning on Thursday, whereas her Republican challenger Don Bolduc used his extra open type to justify casting extra doubt on the integrity of the presidential election. New Hampshire.
Bolduc, a retired military brigadier normal, was requested throughout a debate if he believed the governor and secretary of state once they mentioned there was no proof of voter fraud widespread within the state and that the elections have been safe.
“I consider Granite Staters, and I am the one one sitting right here who’s been to each city and metropolis within the state for 2 years,” Bolduc mentioned, ticking off issues he mentioned he heard on the voting machines. , ballots solid by- state school college students and extra.
“They do not like the truth that they cannot belief the mail-in voting system,” he mentioned. “They do not like the truth that same-day voter registration results in fraud.”
He additionally cited unsubstantiated claims that Democrats organized buses stuffed with voters from different states to vote illegally in New Hampshire. When requested if he believed such claims, he replied, “I say that is what Granite Staters inform me, and I feel that is legitimate.”
Bolduc, who misplaced the GOP nomination for New Hampshire’s different Senate seat in 2020, received this yr’s nomination largely because of his near-constant grassroots campaigning since then. He credited the hassle once more when a moderator urged that, just like the profession politicians he criticizes, Bolduc modified his stances to pander to completely different audiences.
After lengthy insisting through the main that the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump, he modified his place after the September 13 main, first saying it was not stolen and later that he wasn’t positive. On Tuesday he once more mentioned he had not been robbed, however mentioned he modified his thoughts after talking to voters and will admit he was fallacious.
“The extra individuals you speak to, the extra expertise you acquire, the extra concepts you get, and the extra opinions you must internalize,” he mentioned. “So it would not change for the general public, it modifications as a result of that is what I am imagined to be: accountable, clear, assured.”
However Hassan argued feedback Bolduc and others he made concerning the 2020, 2022 and 2024 elections present he wouldn’t be accountable to voters. Bolduc would be happy to disregard voters “as a result of he would not want to just accept election outcomes,” she mentioned.
“What you will have simply heard from Don Bolduc is that he continues to attempt to feed the massive lie. He is been roaming this state for over a yr now, fueling the massive lie that 2020 was stolen,” she mentioned. “Which means he would not assume he is accountable.”
Almost two years after Trump’s defeat, there isn’t a proof of widespread fraud. Widespread criticism in battleground states the place Trump contested his loss upheld the outcomes, courts have dismissed dozens of lawsuits by Trump and his allies, and even Trump’s personal Justice Division has concluded that the outcomes have been appropriate.
Hassan pushed again when requested if his behavior of internet hosting small, non-public marketing campaign occasions contradicted his frequent assertion that “in New Hampshire, we do democracy higher than wherever else.”
Hassan mentioned she recurrently sits down with workers of New Hampshire companies to listen to their issues and is commonly approached by constituents when grocery purchasing or getting espresso. And she or he mentioned she’s efficiently addressed these issues — on points like shock medical billing and infrastructure enhancements — in Washington. She additionally spoke and answered questions at a number of boards – together with one dedicated to psychological well being points – which Bolduc declined to attend.
“I run my marketing campaign in a means that enables me to listen to from Granite Staters and handle their issues in actual time, each as a candidate and as a sitting U.S. senator,” she mentioned. declared.
The controversy was sponsored by New Hampshire Public Radio, New Hampshire Bulletin and New Hampshire PBS.
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