Hassan, Bolduc neck and neck in New Hampshire: poll

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Republican Don Bolduc are neck and neck in the race for the Senate seat that could determine which party controls the body, according to a new poll. 

The poll from Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics found Bolduc leading Hassan by 1 point, 48 percent to 47 percent. That result shows a significant tightening of the race compared to the institute’s September poll, which found Hassan was leading by 6 points. 

Hassan’s favorability rating has since dropped, while Bolduc’s has improved notably since then. 

Hassan was viewed favorably by 45 percent of respondents in the new poll, down from 48 percent in September. Her unfavorable rating also rose from 51 percent to 54 percent. 

Bolduc was viewed favorably by 46 percent in the new poll, up 5 points from the September poll. 

Much of Hassan’s lead in September was based on Republicans not fully coalescing around Bolduc, who has faced controversy throughout the campaign for falsely arguing that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Trump. 

Bolduc backed off his claims after winning the Republican nomination in the spring, but he has more recently clamped down on fighting voter fraud and making false claims that widespread fraud occurred in 2020. 

Hassan has had overwhelming Democratic support behind her, but Republicans are now standing more solidly behind Bolduc. 

The GOP pulled millions of dollars out of the race earlier on as Bolduc appeared to be trailing Hassan by large margins, but the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm recently increased spending on the race as polls showed it tightening. 

The New Hampshire Senate race is one of several that has seen Democratic candidates’ leads over their Republican opponents narrow in recent weeks. 

But Hassan is still holding a lead in most polls, and FiveThirtyEight’s polling average has her ahead by about 4 points. 

The new poll was conducted from Oct. 28 to 29 among 1,541 likely voters. The margin of error was 2.5 points.