Game On. Democrats Mount Challenge for Key Senate Seat

Maggie Hassan will run for U.S. Senate.

One of only 20 women senators in the 113th Congress, Ayotte was elected in 2010 and announced her re-election bid this summer.

Hassan, for her part, touted her gubernatorial record in the announcement video.

Hassan touted her work to promote business innovation, freeze tuition at state universities, balance the state budget and begin fixing infrastructure.

“To continue to realize our state’s full potential, we need a response from Washington that meets the progress we are making here at home”, Hassan said in the video. “In the Senate, I fight every day for better opportunities and a brighter future for our kids and our state”.

The video has the look of a campaign commercial, with footage of Hassan touring businesses and schools. She said Washington has given in to powerful special interests and lobbyists who rig the system against the middle class. The New Hampshire GOP attacked Hassan more than Ayotte did, saying she is “trying to leave the corner office after years of failing to lead on the pressing issues facing New Hampshire”.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which raises funds for Senate Republicans, called Hassan a “do-nothing governor” with an “open hostility to pro-growth policies”.

“She has failed to keep and grow jobs in New Hampshire, she has failed to respond adequately to the heroin epidemic and she has failed to work across party lines to do what’s right for Granite-Staters”, New Hampshire Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Horn. More info on Hassan’s website HERE. This is largely a reflection of the fact that New Hampshire has become a very purple state in recent years, with Hassan having been reelected in 2014 with a five point margin over her challenger, and President Obama having won the state by roughly the same margin in 2012.