Maggie Hassan’s Campaign Tried to Throw Out Conservative Journalist from Press Event

Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan’s campaign tried to bar conservative journalist Michael Graham from covering the senator’s press event at Ward Hall in Concord.

Graham, the politics editor for center-right media outlet NH Journal, was accosted this week by a Hassan staffer at a press conference held by the campaign. Audio reveals two staffers abruptly told Graham he was not invited to the event.

“Well, you weren’t supposed to come,” one staffer said in recorded audio of the confrontation.

Hassan’s Senate office and campaign reportedly refuses to send the NH Journal “public” press announcements. Graham said he only heard of the event through journalists covering New Hampshire’s Senate race.

‘You Weren’t Supposed to Come:’ What It’s Like Trying to Cover Maggie Hassan.https://t.co/mHMjcDz22R@NHGOP @NHDems #NHPolitics #NHSen @SenatorHassan

— NH Journal (@NewHampJournal) October 26, 2022

“Can you please leave,” Hassan’s staffer demanded.

“No. I will not leave. I’m a reporter. I’m a reporter doing my job,” Graham replied. “You’re welcome to call the police and have me removed.”

“You’re not credentialed,” the staffer responded.

Graham told the staffer Hassan’s campaign had no authority to issue credentials; that job is the responsibility of the New Hampshire Press Association of which Graham is a member.

“Okay,” the staffer said after Graham explained the chain of command. “Well, you weren’t supposed to come.”

The decision by Hassan to exclude a conservative member of the media from conservative events is indicative of Hassan’s very carefully crafted campaign to appear moderate in her race against Republican challenger Gen. Don Bolduc.

Hassan, who casts votes for President Joe Biden’s inflation-fueling legislation, has refused to acknowledge her role in soaring inflation. When she was confronted by Gen. Bolduc about inflation during the October 18 debate, Hassan took no responsibility. She has since come up with several contradictory excuses for soaring inflation under Democrat rule.
Hassan is not only trying to hide from conservative news outlets, but she has also dodged debates and has refused to hold town halls. Hassan has skipped two debates so far. She originally agreed to three.

“Here is some free and unsolicited advice to Hassan and the folks who tried to throw me out of a press conference: Whatever you’re doing, it ain’t working,” Graham penned in the NH Journal. “Dodging debates, refusing to hold town halls, hiding from the press and, most of all, not talking to the voters — has gotten you into a statistical tie with Don Bolduc.”

“Maybe it is time to rethink your strategy before New Hampshire decides it is time to fire its senator,” he added.

It appears New Hampshire Democrats use the same tactics against conservative journalists. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) tried to kick Breitbart News’s Matt Boyle out of a 2014 campaign event. Shaheen’s event pressured a private businesses owner to tell Boyle “this was a private event and you’re not welcome here.” According to Breitbart News’s report of the event:

While preparing to take notes and standing in the back of the room, as reporters normally do, the owner of the business and a Shaheen staffer approached this reporter and asked this reporter to leave the event. The owner of the business would not provide his name, and said that this is a private event that isn’t open to the public.

“I’m a congressionally credentialed Capitol Hill reporter, credentialed by the U.S. Senate press gallery,” this reporter said in response to him, holding up this reporter’s credentials–a hard badge photo ID card.

The owner and Shaheen campaign said that didn’t matter, and they proceeded to say this reporter needed to leave. So, this reporter cooperated and left the premises without incident. While walking out the front door, the owner of the business remarked that this reporter “could go be a reporter over there on public property” while pointing to the street.

The campaign event was advertised as open to the press, meaning journalists from credentialed media outlets were invited to attend the event.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.