September 12, 2022
At the conclusion of the September 13 races, the Primary Election Season and our general election prospects will be officially set in stone. As such, these last few battles for respective party nominations will undoubtedly bear significant importance – and the Jewish Political Guide is here to show what that means for the Jewish communities as the general election draws near.
In our spotlight today, we’ll take a look at the heated New Hampshire GOP Senate Primary, a race that is sure to stir up a storm and could very well lay the tone for Senate Control in the 118th Congress.
Candidate Breakdown – Race Overview
In New Hampshire, the Republican Senate Primary is gearing up to be a major fight and will without question garner tremendous significance later this year. Having matured into a race of national attention, many players are working hard to influence the voter base ahead of election day. Conservative political coalitions are pouring tremendous resources into the race, buying up ad slots and air time to promote the GOP ahead of the general. Regardless of the outcome, whoever wins will (almost certainly) take on Incumbent New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan in November. For context, here is some background on major positions Senator Hassan has taken that affect Jewish interests:
- Senator Hassan supported the Iran nuclear deal and opposed the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem arguing that the decision could inflame the region.
- She opposes the discriminatory Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, a legislation that aimed to counter the discriminatory boycotts that target Israel.
- Senator Hassan supports the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She cosponsored a resolution that objected the bigoted UN Security Council Resolution 2334.
- In 2019, she voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.
On the Republican side, and as denoted by the Washington Post, “The Republican primary for U.S. Senate is seen as a significant factor in the larger battle for control of the upper chamber next year. The race includes, among others, retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, who has said that he “concurred with Trump’s assessment” of the election, meaning his false claims that he was the winner, and co-signed a letter raising questions about the vote. Bolduc has also endorsed closing the Department of Education, and he asked whether America should “get rid of” the FBI in the wake of last month’s search of Mar-a-Lago. New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse (R) is opposing Bolduc. Morse is supported by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who has called Bolduc a “conspiracy theorist.” At a campaign stop in Rochester, Morse defended the integrity of the 2020 election in the state, but he did not oppose the effort by most House Republicans, and some Senate Republicans, to challenge President Biden’s electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.” These two candidates make up the most head-to-head faction among a sea of conservative candidates vying for the party’s nomination.
On the Issues
While neither Morse nor Bolduc has held elected positions at the national level – the two do have some readily available information related to their positions on important issues.
On Iran, both Morse and Bolduc have been vocal in their condemnation of the current administration’s push for a revived JCPOA. In a tweet on the subject, Morse called out Senator Maggie Hassan with the following:
On that same note, Bolduc has also taken a very vocal approach on the Iran issue. In a tweet, he refers to the situation as a “real imminent threat,” and has levied significant condemnation at Tehran’s sponsorship of terror, that leaves mountains of tragedy in their wake.
When discussing Israel, Bolduc has issued statements affirming his support of the Jewish State and calling out world powers that wish to do her harm. In response to a slew of rocket attacks that were sponsored by the Tehran regime, Bolduc released a statement condemning the Ayatollah’s actions and standing with Israel. An abridged version of his statement can be seen below:
“I fully support Israel. As a national security expert I know how important our relationship is with Israel.” “The Biden Administration must fully support Israel politically, diplomatically, economically, and with any military support that is requested. We must work with Middle East partners to deliver this message to Iran and Hamas. A clear message must be sent to China, Russia, and North Korea to stay out.”
Don Bolduc went on to call for support on both sides of the aisle.“This must be a bi-partisan effort. Iran, Hamas and anyone else in the region and across the world, must know we stand with Israel,” said Bolduc. “This is not about the Palestinians. They are not the enemy of Israel. The Palestinians are victims too. It is about Hamas, a violent extremist organization backed by Iran.”
“Our message must be clear and strong: If you mess with Israel, you mess with us.“
Unfortunately, State Senator Morse does not appear to have any readily available information regarding his positions on Israel, or other Jewish Issues.