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Good morning, Fellow Patriot. Today is Election Day and change is in the air. I was so humbled by this article in my hometown paper, and wanted to share with you. Your kind words and support mean the world to me. God Bless You. - Don
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Gen. Don Bolduc: Who are his supporters and why is this race so close?
By ROBERTA BAKER
THE LACONIA DAILY SUN
Nov 7, 2022
At the Saddle Up Saloon in Kingston on Thursday, one day after he was assaulted by a heckler before a debate, Gen. Don Bolduc was rallying the troops.
The room was filled with supporters of the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, a military hero who is considered a beltway outsider and a long shot against Sen. Maggie Hassan, a well-funded Democrat incumbent and popular former governor.
Days before the election, their race was considered too close to predict, with some polls putting Bolduc within one or two percentage points of Hassan. By Election Day, he will have completed 83 town halls, where he connects with rooms of middle- and working-class voters.
Local business owners, tradespeople, seniors, veterans, and parents and grandparents of school-age children packed the venue, filling seats and lining the walls. It was the demographic at a baseball game. Nobody was wearing a MAGA hat.
A man in a stars-and-stripes jacket drove from Billerica, Massachusetts, to give Bolduc his citizens group’s award for leadership and patriotism. Guests included Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, leaders of the American Conservative Union. The crowd stood and clapped for Bolduc, a decorated infantry soldier who rose from private to brigadier general, a daunting feat in the military world — especially without West Point credentials or an elite degree.
A candidate from the people, for the people
A hometown hero and Laconia native, Bolduc connects with ordinary folks — and they feel an affinity with him.
“I think it’s because I’m one of them,” he said Saturday following a rally at Charlotte Avenue Elementary School in Nashua, after working through a line of people waiting to have their photo taken with him. “I learned how to serve people as the son and grandson of a dairy farmer in Laconia. I was out there delivering milk. I’m middle class. I didn’t come from money. I think it is my willingness to talk to everybody and answer everybody’s questions,” he said. “Then taking that and turning it into action.”
His father and role model, the late Armand Bolduc, served 35 years in Laconia as city councilor, mayor and member of the school board, he said.
“You do that by being with the people," he said. "What’s been created now is elitism, people who believe they’re above everyone else.”
Populism can be a powerful motivator when voters feel disconnected from the elected officials who represent them.
Bolduc’s modest beginnings, record of military service and real-world message resonate with working people who are worried about the economy, energy and food costs, border security, national security, and war in Europe — and whether future America will provide the opportunities they enjoyed. Their vote is a bid to save America as they love it: a land of getting ahead through hard work, retirement accounts that dependably grow, and energy independence.
In a Gallup poll in January, only 17% of respondents said they’re pleased with the country’s direction now.
“I think the attitude is if they’re in office, get them out. You can’t be in there your whole life and make a career out of it,” said Mark Collins of Nashua, who came Saturday with his brother, Jack, to the rally. “We support him because he’s not a Democrat. This administration is destroying this country. They’ve gone too far to the left.”
“He’s a no-nonsense guy. He hit the nail on the head when he said, ‘People in New Hampshire have to choose between heating and eating,’” Jack said.
Distrust of political ads, mailers and incumbents
Bolduc’s supporters say they pay no attention to political mailings they believe miscast his positions to make Hassan look good.
“Political mailers are a joke and a disgrace. The ones I’ve received, things are taken out of context. I want America first, I want a patriot in there, not another career politician,” said Tom Matte of Hudson.
“The Democrats are lying about a lot of things. If the mother’s life is in danger, no one’s against having an abortion. [Bolduc] doesn’t want to end Social Security, either. No one does,” said Joe Ferris of Nashua, who described himself as an independent. “Bringing energy prices down is important. I think Republicans will do that better.”
Those interviewed at Saturday’s rally also said they excuse Bolduc’s about-face on abortion and believe what the candidate states now: “I believe this issue is best left for the states to decide to give women the strongest voice on this issue. I will never support a federal ban on abortion and my opponent has repeatedly lied about my position.”
In Bolduc, many see an independent thinker and a leader unattached to political power brokers.
“He’s a home-grown native who is not beholden to PAC money, GOP money and lobbyists,” said Julie Smith, who is running as a Republican for state representative in Nashua’s Ward 2. “He’s running for office to serve. He would do the right thing, not just take orders from interest groups. It’s about being a servant, not going there to build a career or a resume.”
Democrats “never want to talk about the economy, national security or inflation,” Smith said. “It’s all about reproductive issues. They’re putting the spotlight on that as a distraction.”
National issues are driving New Hampshire voters to the polls for state and federal races. For some, not being a seated and seasoned politician is a selling point.
“Maggie Hassan is doing nothing to help us. She’s spending money like running water,” said Tom Varela of Concord at the Nashua rally.
“She’s a career politician who votes with the rest of the party all the time and does not think about what’s best for the American people,” said his wife, Linda Varela.
“Listening to [Bolduc] is like listening to myself,” said Avalon Lewis, a Black Republican candidate for state representative in Nashua’s Ward 7. Since President Joe Biden took office, “It took us two years from day one to get here. This economic ball is running down the way,” hiking up the costs of living and working. “It will take effort to stop it and slow it down.”
Bolduc will get his vote, said Dave Christiansen of Nashua, simply because “He’s not Hassan. Hassan has helped destroy this economy. Plus, he’s a veteran. Veterans are the only ones that still have honor in this culture. I trust him.”
In response to an emailed question on how he would fight inflation, Bolduc wrote Friday, “We need to reverse our energy policies and start investing in American energy independence. We need to reduce the taxes that the Inflation Reduction Act has burdened American citizens" with.
Faith, freedom and country
At his town halls, faith, freedom and country is a rallying cry.
“There’s not much difference between generations if we all have the same values and beliefs. Love of family, God and country binds us together,” Bolduc told the crowd in Kingston. “God has been removed from the public square. Parents have been removed from the education process. There’s been a slow but sure boxing out of parents."
The Biden administration, including Hassan, is “increasing taxes every time we turn around. It’s time to come together and say enough is enough. She’s not working for us, and our families feel it. You can’t send the same person [to Washington] expecting a different result.”
Sincerity and integrity matter
Mike Moyer and Bruce Cheney, former chiefs of police in Laconia who are retired from law enforcement, remember Bolduc as an adolescent playing baseball in the Babe Ruth League, and as a fledging summer-duty Laconia police officer at around age 18.
“I liked him even though he took over my position as a player,” Moyer said. “He was 12 or 13, and a leader back then, the way he carried himself. He wasn’t cocky. There was sincerity.”
Later as a rookie police officer, Moyer said he admired Bolduc’s integrity and compassion on the job.
"I know it’s cliche, but I truly believe he would serve everyone in New Hampshire” regardless of their political leaning, Moyer said. “He’s the hardest-working guy I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Cheney, currently a Laconia city councilor, remembers taking a chance when he hired Bolduc as a high school senior to work during the summer for the Laconia Police Department.
“You may not agree with what he says, but he’s sincere and you can’t take that away from him. He doesn’t say it to get your vote. Whether you agree with what he says, you feel comfortable with him,” Cheney said. “I think Don’s appeal is to the vast majority of average folk. Even lifelong Democrats can look at Don and say he’s a real person. When he says he’ll listen to you, he means it. Here’s a guy who put in the effort and succeeded.” His achievements require tenacity, common sense and intellectual ability, Cheney said.
“There’s a decency and honesty in this guy," said John Cornwall of Nashua, a self-described independent, after hearing and seeing Bolduc in person. "He’s talking about things that matter to us right now. He’s got an ability to bond with people.”
“What he’s talking about and what he believes in are what local people are concerned with,” said a teacher from Nashua, who declined to give her name because “my school’s very liberal,” she said.
Money for and against the candidates
According to OpenSecrets, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that tracks political spending, between 2017 and 2022, Hassan raised $38.3 million for her re-election campaign and spent $36.2 million by Oct. 19, her most recent report. Bolduc raised $2.2 million and spent $1.9 million as of Nov. 3.
Outside groups spent $10 million to support Bolduc — but $18.4 million to defeat him, according to OpenSecrets. Outside groups spent $3.3 million to assist Hassan — and $13.2 million to defeat her.
“Town halls will make the big difference,” Bolduc said Saturday. “You’re accessible to people across the spectrum. The one at New England College was indicative of that. We had every age group, including college students and 8- and 12-year-olds. It’s putting the time across the state and in every town and city. Standing there, taking the hard questions, is the way you gain trust.”
“It’s about our survival,” Bolduc said. “We need new people in Washington, D.C., because sending the same people down is going to result in the same problems, only worse.”
On his way into the Nashua rally, Bolduc bumped fists with Sam Sexton, a 10-year-old who said he wants to be a U.S. Navy captain. “You’ll be a skipper up there" on the bridge, Bolduc said, “making sure our country is safe.”
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