Outside group links Ayotte challenger to school sex scandal in new ad

A super PAC is linking Democratic New Hampshire Senate candidate Maggie Hassan to a school sex abuse scandal in a new ad.

{mosads}The ad, launched Tuesday, cites a New Hampshire Union Leader editorial that said Hassan’s husband, a former principal of Phillips Exeter Academy, covered up an affair between an instructor and a student. It also alleges that Hassan, who is the state’s governor, took campaign contributions from the teacher and placed him on her steering committee.

According to The Boston Globe, teacher Rick Schubert was forced to retire in 2011 after admitting to sexual misconduct. Tom Hassan retired from his job at Phillips Exeter in 2015 but was censured in April by the Association for Boarding Schools for not disclosing the scandal.

“We should have taken additional action to ensure transparency and accountability at that time, and I join Phillips Exeter Academy in apologizing for an inadequate response,” he said in April.

The ad comes from GOP super PAC Granite State Solutions, which has released multiple attack ads targeting Hassan throughout her race against Republican incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

Maggie Hassan has said she did not know of any accusations against Schubert.

She currently holds a 0.8-point lead over Ayotte in the RealClearPolitics state polling average.