Republican Senate Candidate Says Abortion Decisions Belong to “Gentlemen” State Lawmakers

Mary Schwalm/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.New Hampshire Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc told supporters last week that abortion decisions “belong” to “gentlemen” in the state legislature. 
At a Wednesday night town hall in Auburn, Bolduc said, “It belongs to the state. It belongs to these gentlemen right here, who are state legislators representing you. That is the best way I think, as a man, that women get the best voice. At the state level, not at the federal level. It’s really Senator Hassan that doesn’t understand this.” He added that Sen. Maggie Hassan, the state’s incumbent democratic senator, “needs to get on board with the Supreme Court decision” to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Here’s audio of the remarks:

Bolduc, a retired army general who is trailing behind Hassan in recent polls, says he is pro-life and that he believes abortion to be a state issue. Asked last month by New Hampshire television station WMUR about Hassan’s focus on abortion, he responded, “she wants to hang on with dear life. Well, guess what? Your views are not consistent with the average Granite Stater, number one. Number two, Get over it.” (Sen. Hassan responded, “Sorry, Don, but women will not ‘get over it.’”)

CloseUp w/ @GenDonBolduc on @Maggie_Hassan’s focus on abortion: “She just wants to hang on with dear life. Well guess what? Your views are not consistent with the average Granite Stater, number one. Number two, get over it. This is about the economy.” #NHPolitics #NHSen #WMUR pic.twitter.com/m1PDTSO3qM
— Adam Sexton (@AdamSextonWMUR) September 18, 2022

Kate Constantini, a spokesperson for Bolduc’s campaign, didn’t respond to questions about last week’s remarks, but said that Bolduc “believes this decision should be in the hands of the states,” according to HuffPo. Sydney Petersen, speaking for Hassan’s campaign, said “Every chance he gets, Bolduc reinforces that he believes politicians—and more specifically Republican men—should control a woman’s most personal decision about her future.”