Sen. Hassan Backs Out of New Hampshire Debate With Republican Challenger

Veteran politician U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) has backed out of a scheduled debate with her Republican challenger and political newcomer Don Bolduc.

Wendy Hunt, president of the Nashua Chamber of Commerce, told The Epoch Times that Hassan has asked to appear separately on stage for the Oct. 12 debate.

Hunt, who would only communicate with The Epoch Times by email about the change, would not comment further, only saying that Hassan would appear first, followed by Bolduc.

Hunt was quoted by the NH Journal as saying that the Hassan campaign contacted her on Thursday indicating that the U.S. senator would only participate if it were “a stand-alone forum, not a debate.”

Kate Constantini, a com strategist for Bolduc, told The Epoch Times, that Hassan has also insisted that Bolduc not be in the present when she speaks. “He can’t even be in the audience,” said Constantini, “he has to stay in the green room.”

The Hassan campaign did not respond to inquiries by The Epoch Times about the cancellation and Hassan has released no statement about it.

The debate is billed as a luncheon event and has been listed for weeks on the chamber’s calendar. It is part of its candidate series, which includes a scheduled debate on Oct. 18 between New Hampshire Gov. Sununu and his Democrat challenger Tom Sherman and an Oct. 25 debate between Congressman Chris Pappas and his Republican challenger Karoline Leavitt.

Retired Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc is a Republican candidate running for the New Hampshire Senate seat held by Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan. (Courtesy of Bolduc’s campaign)

The Nashua Chamber of Commerce represents businesses in the second-biggest city north of Boston. Nashua is also the seat of New Hampshire’s most populated county.

Constantini pointed out that so far Hassan hasn’t accepted any of

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases