Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will pull all his super PAC’s money out of New Hampshire, effectively sabotaging Republican Senate candidate Gen. Don Bolduc.
The McConnell-backed Senate Leadership Fund will pull all its ads off television starting October 25, Shane Goldmacher of the News York Times reported Friday afternoon. The decision will rip $5.6 million away from Gen. Bolduc’s candidacy and greatly help incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
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.
According to a Friday poll, Gen. Bolduc is virtually tied with Hassan, despite being outspent by nearly $9 million, third quarter campaign fundraising totals show. Gen. Bolduc, a retired one star general, has been running a strong campaign by calling out Hassan’s nearly 100 percent support of President Joe Biden.
“Look at what has happened to New Hampshire: historic inflation, people are hurting — they can’t afford the necessities of life,” Gen. Bolduc said during Tuesday’s debate.
“We’ve got to get rid of career politicians. Granite Staters say, ‘Number one problem is career politicians.’ Twenty years, right there,” he said, pointing at Hassan in the room.
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.
“[W]e request the Senate Leadership Fund immediately stop the attack ads against Kelly Tshibaka and discontinue the support of all opposing candidates,” one committee wrote to McConnell.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
