This far-right Senate candidate refuses to support Mitch McConnell — but is taking his money anyway: report

Don Bolduc, the Donald Trump-supported MAGA conspiracy theorist and “Stop the Steal” Republican who is hoping to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire’s 2022 U.S. Senate race, is so far to the right that he once described conservative Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu as a “Chinese communist sympathizer.” And Sununu, during the GOP Senate primary primary, slammed Bolduc as a “conspiracy theorist extremist” — although Sununu flip flopped after Bolduc won the primary and described him as an “amazing individual” during a Fox News appearance.

Bolduc has joined Trump in opposing Sen. Mitch McConnell as GOP leader in the U.S. Senate, and he has said that if he defeats Hassan in November, he will not support McConnell in that leadership role. But in an article published by Politico on October 19, reporter Natalie Allison emphasizes that Bolduc is accepting McConnell’s super PAC money nonetheless.

“The anti-establishment candidate who was supposed to end Republicans’ chances of flipping a New Hampshire Senate seat is still hanging on, thanks to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s cash,” Allison reports. “Don Bolduc narrowly clinched the state’s late-primary nomination last month, doing so while raising little money, declaring that the 2020 election was stolen, floating controversial proposals to privatize Medicare and Social Security and withstanding attacks by the GOP establishment. And while he has since reversed his position on election fraud and softened his rhetoric on abortion, Bolduc is sticking to his guns on McConnell.”

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Allison continues, “If Republicans capture a majority in the 50-50 Senate, Bolduc said he is still a no on supporting the Kentucky Republican as leader. That’s a question that has dogged other GOP candidates this cycle; in the primaries, they sought Donald Trump’s support, but during the general election, they’ve needed money from McConnell’s super PAC and have shied away from the topic.”

During an interview, Bolduc confirmed to Politico that he still opposes McConnell remaining as GOP leader in the U.S. Senate. The 60-year-old Bolduc told Politico, “I have said no to that question, and I’m not backing off…. I’m very appreciative of Sen. McConnell’s support, but that’s his job. So, to me, that’s not anything that we should all be marveled about. We should expect his support, and he should do everything within his power to help us win.”

Polls released in September and October have been showing Hassan ahead of Bolduc, although not by double digits. A Fabrizio/AARP poll released in early October found Hassan leading Bolduc by 7 percent. And a Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll released in late September found Bolduc trailing Hassan by 8 percent.

One New Hampshire Republican who appears to headed for a solid victory is Sununu, who, according to Fabrizio/AARP, had a 14 percent lead over Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tom Sherman in early October. Polls indicate that many swing voters plan to split their tickets in New Hampshire, supporting Hassan in the Senate race but wanting to reelect Sununu as New Hampshire governor.

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Allison reports that despite Hassan’s single-digit leads in polls, the Democratic senator is leaving nothing to chance. Hassan told Politico, “New Hampshire is always close…. I know what the Republicans think about this race because of the amount of money Mitch McConnell is spending on this seat.”

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