Posted September 15, 2022 | by KimS | in 2022 Election Calendar, DemDaily, Elections, Gubernatorial, House, Senate

DemDaily: Election Results! New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware

September 15, 2022

In the last group of primaries prior to Election Day, voters in New Hampshire, Delaware, and Rhode Island went to the polls on Tuesday.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
US Senate
First-term Senator Maggie Hassan, among Democrats' vulnerable incumbents, will face former US Army Special Forces Brigadier General Donald Bolduc, who prevailed among a field of 11 candidates to win the GOP nomination.

Bolduc, who was a candidate for the US Senate in 2020 and is a pro-Trump election denier, secured 37.1% of the vote. He was followed by State Senator Chuck Morse with 35.8%, former State Presentative Kevin Smith with 11.7%, and the remaining candidates under 8%.

The GOP establishment supported Morse, including current Governor Chris Sununu, who previously called Bolduc a “conspiracy-theorist-type candidate."

Hassan, who served as Governor from 2013 to 2017, is only the second woman in American history to be elected both Governor and United States Senator, along with fellow New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen. She unseated first-term Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte in 2016 by less than 800 votes.

The most recent pre-primary poll, conducted June 22-July 8 by Data for Progress, showed Hassan leading Bolduc 49% to 44% among likely voters.

Hassan, however, has a commanding cash advantage, having raised $26.1 million with $7.35 million cash on hand as of August 24, 2022. Bolduc had raised just $578,943 with $83,903 on hand.

Morse outraised Bolduc almost three-to-one in the primary, and a GOP super PAC invested over $4 million in ads to boost his candidacy. Outside Democratic groups, however, spent more than $3.2 million to teardown Morse in hopes of tipping the scales toward the more extreme Bolduc who would be less competitive against Hassan in the general election.

The Senate race is among several battleground primary races where Democratic groups have pumped millions into uplifting Trump-style candidates in hopes of them winning the nomination and making it easier for the Democrat to win in the general election. The controversial strategy has been largely successful.

The Senate race is among several battleground primary races where Democratic groups have pumped millions into uplifting Trump-style candidates in hopes of them winning the nomination and making it easier for the Democrat to win in the general election. The controversial strategy has been largely successful.

Governor
Three-term Governor Chris Sununu (R) easily fended off five primary opponents, garnering 78.7% of the vote.

Sununu, a popular GOP governor in a state Biden won, was first elected by the independent-minded voters of "The Granite State" in 2016 and was last reelected in 2020 by 18%. New Hampshire governors serve just two-year terms.

State Senator and physician Tom Sherman was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

CD 1: Two-term incumbent Chris Pappas (D) will be challenged by former White House Assistant Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt who won the 10-way GOP primary with 34.7%. Fellow Trump alumni Matt Mowers, who worked at the State Department, secured 25.4%, and the remaining candidates came in under 18%.

Leavitt, who just turned 25, is the second "Gen-Z" candidate to win a primary.

In the toss-up contest, Pappas had raised $3.19 million with $2.27 million cash on hand as of August 24. Leavitt had raised $1.52 million with $574,293 on hand.

CD 2: Five-term incumbent Ann McLane Kuster will face pro-Trump businessman Robert Burns, who defeated six other candidates to secure the Republican nomination with 33%. Establishment favorite and Keene Mayor George Hansel garnered 30.2%, Lily Tang Williams 25%, and the remaining four candidates came in under 3.5%.

In the competitive race, Kuster had raised $3.19 million with $2.86 million on hand as of August 24. Burns had raised $185,998 with $57,048 on hand.

RHODE ISLAND
Governor
Incumbent Democrat Daniel McKee won a close primary contest to win renomination with 32.8%. Businesswoman Helena Foulkes secured 30.1%, Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea won 26.1%, and two other candidates received less than 8%.

McKee is heavily favored against businesswoman Ashley Kalus, who won the GOP nomination with 83.6%.

CD 2: In the open 2nd District being vacated by retiring Congressman James Langevin (D), State Treasurer Seth Magaziner won the Democratic nomination with 54% of the vote. In the tossup contest, he will face former Cranston mayor and two-time Republican gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary.

DELAWARE
Congress: In President Biden's home state, three-term Democratic Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester will be challenged by actor and former train engineer Lee Murphy in the race for the state’s at-large House seat.

Rochester, who was a co-chair of Briden's presidential campaign, is the first woman and first African American to represent "The First State" in Congress. The race is a rematch of the 2020 contest, which Rochester won with 57.6% of the vote to Murphy's 40.2%.

Last Up!
November 8: Louisiana Primary Election
General Election Nationwide

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