The Democrat Party is hanging on to majorities in the U.S. House and Senate by the skin of their teeth.
The last thing they need is a new seat to have to defend to maintain control of the legislature.
But now new numbers suggest Chuck Schumer is going to have to sweat it out in this battleground state.
When incumbent Republican Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire decided against running for the U.S. Senate, it dealt a massive blow to the GOP’s hopes of winning back the majority in the upper chamber.
Early polling out of New Hampshire showed incumbent Senator Maggie Hassan has a sizeable lead over what was believed to be second-tier Republicans running in a primary to challenge her in the 2022 midterms.
Oh the times, they are a changin,’ however.
The University of New Hampshire just released a new poll showing the Senate race in the Granite State has considerably tightened.
The UNH survey put Sen. Hassan in hypothetical head-to-head contests with her potential Republican opponents.
New Hampshire State Senate President Chuck Morse fares the best against Hassan in the survey – beating her 46%-44%.
According to UNH Retired United States Army Brigadier General Don Bolduc is running just a single point behind Hassan, 46%-47%.
The poll shows former Town Manager of Londonderry Kevin Smith trailing Hassan by the same margin, 44%-45%.
And cryptocurrency entrepreneur Bob Fenton lags in the hypothetical matchup, down by 6-points to Hassan.
In the previous poll out of New Hampshire, Hassan led each member of the field by 5-10 points.
The survey has Hassan 16-points underwater in favorability rating, scoring just 35% favorable, compared to 51% unfavorable.
An incumbent never wants to surpass that 50% marker in unfavorability.
As for who will face Hassan in November, Bolduc has a massive lead with 33% support.
Smith has 4% support in the polling, Fenton has 2% and Morse – the man who fares best against Hassan in the polling – registers just 1%.
However, the Granite State has a late primary date of September 13, and the survey shows 58% of New Hampshire Republicans are undecided – so there is plenty of time to stir things up for all of the candidates in the primary.
If the GOP is able to knock off Hassan, it’ll be very difficult for Democrats to secure control of the Senate – which is currently deadlocked at 50/50.
Meanwhile, Governor Chris Sununu, who bypassed a Senate bid to run for a fourth term as Governor, is looking to be in pretty good shape.
He is most likely to face State Senator Tom Sherman – who is the most likely person to walk out of the Democrat Primary with the nomination.
UNH has Sununu – who is part of a political family legacy in New Hampshire – running away with his hypothetical competition with Sherman – 55% of voters say they support Sununu, while just 29% say they’re going with Sherman.
Not a good sign for a politician when the margin (26-points) is almost as large as your registered support (29%).
Unlike Senator Hassan, Governor Sununu is very popular in the Granite State.
In fact, 51% of voters have a favorable view of the Governor, while only 22% are unfavorable.
Patriot Political will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
