Don Bolduc’s campaign claims the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire was attacked ahead of his debate against incumbent Democrat Maggie Hassan on Wednesday evening.
“As the general said on stage tonight, it’s time to lower the temperature of the political discourse in this country. Prior to the debate, an individual in the crowd gathered outside attempted to punch the general and was quickly apprehended and arrested,” a Bolduc campaign spokesperson told Boston 25 News.
Bolduc was unharmed and the suspect was arrested, his campaign said.
Footage of the incident shows a man with a microphone rush toward Bolduc as he approaches the debate stage. Bolduc then gestures toward nearby police officers, asking them to remove the man. A group of Bolduc supporters standing behind the candidate then push through a barricade and begin shoving the man backwards as police officers rush in. Bolduc can be heard telling the police that the man who approached him with a microphone had “hit” him before his supporters and the police intervened, though the video doesn’t appear to support Bolduc’s claim.
A member of Hassan’s communication team condemned the alleged unruly behavior. “Disgusting behavior. We saw this same libertarian party activist get aggressive with our campaign volunteers at this debate and the last,” he wrote on Twitter.
Wednesday’s debate between Bolduc and Hassan was the last before the two face off on November 8. As the race tightens, In a recent ad campaign, Hassan pitched herself to voters as a moderate Democrat who will work across the aisle with Republicans and “stand up to the president.”
A Tuesday poll conducted by Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics showed Bolduc gaining momentum days ahead of the election. The poll found Bolduc leading Hassan by one point after the same poll taken in September showed him trailing by 6 points.
President Biden claimed in an address Wednesday that there’s been a surge in political violence directed at both Republicans and Democrats, citing the recent attempted kidnapping of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the violent attack on her husband. He proclaimed that “democracy itself” is at stake in the midterm elections.