The New York Times reports that a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has decided to stop airing television advertisements in the state of New Hampshire.
New Hampshire is where Don Bolduc, a pro-Trump Republican, is running against Democrat Maggie Hassan for her United States Senate seat.
It is well-established that McConnell does not see eye-to-eye with former President Donald Trump, and McConnell, himself, has insinuated that he is not a big fan of many of the Trump-endorsed or pro-Trump Republican candidates who are running in the midterm elections.
Accordingly, from the outside looking in, it appears as though the decision to pull the television advertisements is a way to undermine Bolduc’s chances. Although, this is not how the super PAC is describing its decision.
$5.6 million
The McConnell-aligned super PAC that is pulling the television advertisements is the Senate Leadership Fund.
The Times reports that the PAC is taking away $5.6 million from the Republican side of the New Hampshire senate race. It will do so by pulling television advertisements starting on October 25.
Senate Leadership Fund President Steven Law has put out a statement on the decision, saying, “as the cycle comes to a close, we are shifting resources to where they can be most effective to achieve our ultimate goal: winning the majority.”
This would appear to suggest that, in the PAC’s view, New Hampshire’s senate race is a lost cause for Republicans. Only that’s not what recent polling shows.
It’s tighter than expected
For a while now, Hassan has comfortably been ahead in the polls. But, a new poll from Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, suggests that the race is tighter than expected. This poll from Fabrizio has Hassan in the lead, but only by 49% to 47%, which is clearly within the poll’s four percentage point margin of error.
Clearly, the race is not a lost cause.
Nonetheless, Bolduc will now be moving forward without the help of ads from the Senate Leadership Fund. And, previously, the National Republican Senatorial Committee also pulled its funding from New Hampshire as well.
So, if Bolduc is going to win this one, he is going to have to pull it off by himself.