NHDP Launches “MitchStakes” Project, Highlighting GOP Senate Candidates’ Rush to Sell Out to Mitch

NH GOP Senate Candidates Will Spend the Next Seven Months Competing For Mitch McConnell’s Support — and Corporate Special Interest Cash

Today, the New Hampshire Democratic Party is launching “MitchStakes,” a new project highlighting how all three Republican US Senate candidates are competing for Mitch McConnell’s support — by selling out New Hampshire to McConnell and his corporate special interest backers. In this messy and chaotic primary, Chuck Morse, Don Bolduc, and Kevin Smith are all going out of their way to win the support of McConnell and his biggest allies — from Big Pharma to Big Oil. In the process, they are embracing an agenda that will keep prescription drug prices high, jack up costs for New Hampshire families, defund Planned Parenthood, and put new restrictions on abortion. Every single Republican running in the “MitchStakes” primary will be a rubber stamp for Mitch McConnell. Chuck Morse, Kevin Smith, and Don Bolduc have gone out of their way to align themselves with Mitch McConnell — hiring his staffers for their campaigns and publicly embracing McConnell’s corporate special interest agenda. In the early days of the campaign, they have already made clear they’re more interested in competing for McConnell’s support than the backing of the people of New Hampshire. “Chuck Morse, Kevin Smith, and Don Bolduc would each be reliable ‘yes’ votes for the McConnell agenda, but only one of them can win the ‘MitchStakes’ in September,” said NHDP Chair Ray Buckley. “Over the next seven months, they will have to battle it out to see who is the most anti-choice, pro-corporate special interest Republican willing to sell out Granite Staters and secure the grand prize — the support of Mitch McConnell and his Big Pharma, Big Oil corporate special interests. No matter who emerges as the victor in the ‘MitchStakes,’ Mitch McConnell and corporate special interests will win, and Granite Staters will lose.” I’ll Take Corporate Special Interests for $2,000,000. Mitch McConnell and his shady corporate special interests have already spent months dumping millions of dollars in false attack ads into the state, and their influence in the primary will only get stronger. For Chuck Morse, Kevin Smith, and Don Bolduc to win the “MitchStakes,” they’ll need all of the corporate special interest money they can get – which means selling out Granite Staters to get campaign cash from McConnell’s corporate cronies. The candidates are well on their way — all three have made clear that they would have joined Mitch in supporting restrictions on reproductive rights and opposing COVID relief that helped reopen schools, invest in law enforcement, cut taxes for families, and keep small businesses afloat. What’s a Ten Letter Word to Describe Someone Who Attacks Reproductive Rights? Chuck Morse, Kevin Smith, and Don Bolduc all have extreme, anti-choice records that make clear they would work with Mitch McConnell to defund Planned Parenthood and put new restrictions on abortion. State Senate President Chuck Morse was the architect of the first abortion ban in modern New Hampshire history, which has no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomalies. Kevin Smith is one of the leading opponents of women’s reproductive freedom and marriage equality in the Granite State. He was a lobbyist for the anti-choice, far-right group Cornerstone Action, and advocated for making abortion illegal in New Hampshire and defunding Planned Parenthood. And Don Bolduc opposes access to abortion and openly calls for defunding Planned Parenthood, which would threaten access to reproductive health care for thousands of Granite Staters. Who Will Be the Next Rubber Stamp for Mitch McConnell? Tune in to the “MitchStakes” to Find Out. Every single Republican running in the “MitchStakes” primary has aligned themselves with Mitch McConnell. Chuck Morse already took a page out of Mitch McConnell’s playbook by hiring Jim Merrill, a former Chinese Communist Party-linked corporate lobbyist, to play a central role in his campaign. Don Bolduc hired one of McConnell’s former staffers at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and Kevin Smith took time away from his taxpayer-funded job to travel to meet with McConnell’s campaign arm and his top lieutenant, Senator Rick Scott. The “MitchStakes” project will span over the next seven months through the New Hampshire primary on September 13 and will feature various digital, communications, and organizing tools to show how the Republican Senate candidates are running to see who will be the biggest sellout to Mitch McConnell and his corporate special interests, even if it means selling out Granite Staters.