$45 Million Doesn’t Buy What it Used To

Maybe it is because of Biden’s inflation/recession. Perhaps it is because no time slots were available for more campaign spots. Maybe it was the crossover spending where the Parties donated to the opponents. The dollars and numbers I want to detail are for New Hampshire. New Hampshire is a small state when you are talking about voters. New Hampshire gets more attention than she deserves regarding elections. New Hampshire shows why the Electoral College is so important to our Republic. We had three federal-level positions on the 2022 ballot- one Senator and two Congresspeople (is that a word?). All three incumbents were Democrats, and all successfully held their seats. It was expected that two of these seats would have flipped according to performance and the polls. So much for the experts.

Senator Maggie Hassan was running for a second term. She was labeled a soft candidate, and the potential of Republicans flipping the seat was high. Hassan started her media blitz in the fall of 2021, a full year before the election. The first phase was about what an incredible Senator we had with Maggie. If you believed her ads, she was a rainmaker for passing bills as if she was the writer and sole signer. It was pure gaslighting. Once her opponent was determined, the ads went negative, and most were fact-checked as inaccurate. It didn’t matter. The ads were relentless, and the rebuttals never saw the light of day. Hassan spent $114 per vote. Politics is repulsive.

Let’s look at the three races and the difference in money spent.

Senator

Maggie Hassan, the Democrat incumbent, spent $38 Million
Don Bolduc, the Republican challenger, spent $1.9 Million

House District 1

Chris Pappas, the Democrat incumbent, spent $3.7 Million
Karoline Leavitt, the Republican challenger, spent $2.6 Million

House District 2

Ann Kuster, the Democrat incumbent, spent $3.3 Million
Bob Burns, the Republican challenger, spent $199 Thousand

The disparity is enormous and is key to why the state has stayed Blue at the Federal level. The state is solid Red at the statewide level, which is somewhat of a conundrum. The good thing is that the state staying Red will prevent the Democrats from implementing a State Income or Sales Tax. This is essential to New Hampshire’s future.

These numbers are obscene, but as I said, New Hampshire is a small state. Georgia is holding a Senatorial run-off election tomorrow. It seems like the election started weeks ago with the early voting so popular. The polls and media contend the race is close and depends on turnout. To believe that is to set yourself up for disappointment. I see no way that Raphael Warnock loses to Herschel Walker. The money line agrees. Warnock and Walker will spend a combined $380 Million for the right to sit in the Upper Chamber. Warnock is outspending Walker three to one. There appears to be no limit to what people will pay for power.

Politics is a repulsive bloodsport, but it is the system we have. Until the Republicans learn to get down in the gutter with the Left, we may continue to lose. We cannot lose. Losing means the end of this incredible experiment. True Americans are not ready to take down the flag and turn off the lights. So we will keep fighting. Sometimes it is not about the money. Sometimes it is about patriotism and being on the right side of the equation.