Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan made national headlines last week, but not for the reasons a candidate for U.S. Senate might want.
In a cringe-worthy exchange on CNN, Hassan dodged a question three separate times on whether she thinks her party’s presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, is honest and trustworthy.
Only after the interview – and off the air – did Hassan’s campaign clarify for CNN that yes, she does indeed find Clinton honest and trustworthy.
But by not answering the question head on, Hassan created a story that went viral. The clip revives questions about the Democrat’s ability to perform on a national scale.
She faces off against Republican incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte in one of the country’s most watched, competitive and expensive races.
So far, the contest has been pretty vanilla. Both women are staying on message in an effort to avoid unforced errors.
But that tactic has backfired at times for Hassan, who has been dinged for repeating talking points and coming off as stiff in interviews.
Besides the widely publicized CNN exchange last week, Politico wrote in January that during a 30-minute interview Hassan “stuck painstakingly to her script.”
As the weeks tick down until November, Hassan will have to get more comfortable talking about Clinton.
The state’s U.S. Senate race continues to be influenced by the top ticket candidates – Republican Donald Trump and Clinton – both of whom are widely unpopular in New Hampshire.
Most attention has been paid to the relationship between Trump and Ayotte, who has said she supports but does not endorse the Republican nominee. The position has earned ridicule from Democrats who say Ayotte doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to Trump.
Hassan too must contend with Clinton, who has drawn disdain from Republicans over her handling of classified material while U.S. secretary of state.
Republican Mike Pence hammered that point when he campaigned in Manchester last week by playing Hassan’s CNN clip for the crowd.
“Now, a day later I guess your governor came out and said she thought (Clinton) was (trustworthy),” said Pence, the Republican vice presidential nominee. “But Gov. Hassan, let me help you out, the answer’s no.”
Hassan has been a Clinton supporter, and backed her first presidential run in 2008. Hassan was a superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention this year, where despite pressure from the state’s Bernie Sanders supporters, she cast a ballot for Clinton.
Since the CNN interview, Hassan has been refining her answer. When asked by NH1 whether she finds Clinton trustworthy Hassan said: “Yes, I do, as do many members of both political parties.”
It turns out reviving a fraternity doesn’t make for the best campaign pitch.
Gubernatorial candidate Mark Connolly made headlines last week after the Boston Globe reported he sent a fundraising email to fraternity brothers, saying he hoped to reinstate Alpha Delta at his alma mater Dartmouth College. The fraternity, which inspired the movie Animal House, was kicked off campus last year after being accused of branding pledges on their buttocks.
“I understand the position the college was in and that some of the students were not fully cooperating, but I don’t think hurting past generations and preventing future ones is the best course,” Connolly, a Democrat, said in the email, which was obtained by the Boston Globe. “In the coming months and years, I would hope to see AD back up and running and have its status restored.”
In a statement after the story surfaced, Connolly walked it back. “The actions that led to Alpha Delta’s expulsion from Dartmouth College were deplorable, and those students who took part should be held accountable and punished,” he said. The Seacoast businessman went on to say the fraternity has played an “important role in the academic and extracurricular lives” of thousands of students, and he hopes to foster dialogue to ensure schools are safe, respectful and inclusive.
Mary Rauh resigned last week from the board of Planned Parenthood of New England after the group’s action fund PAC endorsed Colin Van Ostern in the state’s three-way Democratic primary for governor.
Rauh backs rival Democrat Mark Connolly in the race. But she said it was inappropriate for the Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund PAC to endorse in a primary contest where all three candidates are pro-abortion rights. Rauh voted against the action fund decision.
The PAC doesn’t typically endorse in the primary. Its national counterpart did this year when it backed Hillary Clinton over rival Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential race.
Just a week before masked 350 Action activists trailed Kelly Ayotte during a charity road race, sparking a debate about campaign tactics here, the founder of the advocacy group penned an op-ed in the New York Times complaining about being followed himself by Republican trackers.
“To be watched so much is a kind of never-ending nightmare. And sometimes it’s just infuriating,” wrote Bill McKibben, who founded 350.org.
McKibben did not return a Monitor request for comment.
Jeff Woodburn is not in England, and does not need $9,000 for medical expenses. The state senate minority leader’s email account was hacked.
In fact, the day the message went out to an undisclosed number of Woodburn’s contacts, the Dalton Democrat was in Concord. Hacks have become a testy political issue of late, with Russia allegedly breaking into the Democratic National Committee’s servers and releasing a number of emails.
Woodburn is resting easy.
“I can guarantee you it was not the Russians,” he said, before adding, “and it was not the Republicans.”
Candidates for state office will file some of their first financial disclosures on Aug. 24. The reports will offer a glimpse into how much money Republican gubernatorial candidates have raised and spent so far. A few Democrats in the race filed spending reports voluntarily in June.
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or amorris@cmonitor.com)