Just a few days after U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced he would pull his Senate Leadership Fund PAC out of New Hampshire on the 25th, two polls showed the Republican candidate surging into what is now virtually a tied race.
According to an Emerson poll released Monday, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gen. Don Bolduc has surged five points since last month and is now down only three points — 45-48 percent — to incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan.
A second poll released by AmGreatness/Insider Advantage says we have a single point race, with Hassan at 48 percent and Bolduc at 47 percent.
That’s two polls in a row showing Bolduc on the movie.
That’s also two polls showing Hassan under 50 percent.
Moreover, according to RealClearPolitics, pollsters historically underestimate GOP turnout in New Hampshire by 5.4 points. So if that ends up being the case this time, instead of Bolduc being down by an average of 3.6 points in the poll of polls, he’s actually up 1.8 points.
Either way, that seat looks winnable … and McConnell’s fleeing?
Why?
Obviously, the super PAC ads combined with an overall national GOP surge helped Bolduc.
Why pull the rug out from under him now? And it’s not just McConnell fleeing:
The general will now be all alone in the Granite State. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has also reportedly removed its financial support from the state.
…
McConnell’s decision to remove financial support from Gen. Bolduc comes as McConnell is spending about $9 million to defend pro-impeachment Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) from Trump-endorsed challenger Kelly Tshibaka, who is leading in the polls by a slim margin.
Breitbart News reported Thursday seven Alaska Republican committees have issued a public rebuke of McConnell’s financial influence behind 21-year incumbent Murkowski.
The useless and corrupt uniparty strikes again.
For his part, Bolduc says he’s not worried. On Saturday, he spoke to Breitbart News’s Matt Boyle and said, “The momentum is great right now. We were 15 points behind during the primary. We closed the gap to 7-5-3, and now we’re in a tie.” He explained that the “momentum is going our way because we’re campaigning the Granite State way – five events a day is my average out there on the ground – town halls, house parties, community events, you name it.”
Republican senate nominee Don Bolduc shakes hands with attendees during a campaign event on October 15, 2022 in Derry, New Hampshire. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Bolduc said he had no idea why McConnell had bailed on him. “I really don’t know,” he said. “They don’t explain to me their business plan. They’ve got a whole country to manage. They’re doing their things, and they’re gonna make their business decisions.”
Why get the guy to a tied race and flee?
Bolduc’s been outspent by Hassan by $9 million!
It almost feels like McConnell believes he made a mistake. Heck, we didn’t expect the guy to win. We were just spending money in New Hampshire so it would look like we wanted him to win. Now that he might win, let’s go to Alaska!
Maybe McConnell is worried that if the Trump-backed Republican wins in Alaska, the Trump-backed Republican won’t support McConnell as Senate Majority Leader.
If that’s the case, by abandoning Bolduc to save Murkowski, McConnell is putting himself above the good of the party.
Gee, isn’t that what he accuses Trump of doing?
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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