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Morse decides to run for US Senate, to file paperwork this week, formal launch later in month

Longtime state Senate President cites his record of lowering taxes, growing NH economy

Morse decides to run for US Senate, to file paperwork this week, formal launch later in month

Longtime state Senate President cites his record of lowering taxes, growing NH economy

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      GOT THE SURGERY WAS HEALTHIER AT THE TIME OF DECO INFECTION, WHICH RESULTED IN BETTER OUTCOMES. SEAN: IN COMMITMENT 2022, STATE SENATE PRESIDENT CHUCK MORSE IS GOING FOR A U.S. SENATE SEAT. THE SALEM RESIDENT JOINED RETIRED BRIGADIRE GENERAL DON BOLDUC IN CHALLENGING SENATOR MAGGIE HASSAN. HE PLANS TO FILE A STETAMENT OF ORGANIZATION ON WEDNESDAY ALLOWING HIM TO RAISE MONEY. MORSE SAYS SPECIFICS ON
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      Morse decides to run for US Senate, to file paperwork this week, formal launch later in month

      Longtime state Senate President cites his record of lowering taxes, growing NH economy

      State Senate President Chuck Morse has decided to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and plans to file a statement of organization creating a campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, Morse and his recently hired consultant confirmed Sunday.The statement of organization will allow Morse to begin raising money in earnest toward the effort, while a separate formal of statement of candidacy will be filed later in the month ahead of a planned major launch event at Morse’s Freshwater Farms and Garden Center in Atkinson.Morse, 61, of Salem, will be the second Republican to formally become a candidate to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, joining retired Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc.Another Republican, Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith, is expected to become a candidate within the next several weeks. If Smith definitely runs, he must first address his current job managing operations in the Rockingham County community.Business magnate Bill Binnie and former U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta are still viewed as potential candidates on the GOP side but have not taken formal steps toward running.The general consultant for the Morse campaign will be David Carney of Hancock, a nationally known GOP operative who began his career working with former Gov. John H. Sununu and rose to become political director of the George H.W. Bush White House in the late 1980s. Carney praised Morse as a policy-driven conservative with a no-nonsense style who has the capability to take on and defeat Hassan.Hassan is already in the midst of an aggressive campaign, having raised $14.4 million toward her reelection effort, which she announced in December 2020, in a series of record-setting fundraising quarters. Of that total, $3.1 million was raised in the fourth quarter of 2021, when her campaign also reported entering 2022 with $5.3 million in cash on hand.Morse has said that he had strongly considered running for governor when it appeared through much of last year that current Gov. Chris Sununu would mount a campaign for the U.S. Senate and would be the leading contender to try to deny Hassan a second term.Sununu was heavily recruited by Washington Republicans hoping to win at least one seat in the 50-50 U.S. Senate to shift control back to the GOP after Democrats won control by the single tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020.But when Sununu shocked political observers in New Hampshire and Washington, D.C. on Nov. 9 by announcing he will run for a fourth term as governor and not the U.S. Senate seat, Morse shifted gears and, at the urging of Sununu and others, began looking seriously at running for the U.S. Senate. He said he received calls of encouragement from former U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte and Scott Brown, both of whom quickly decided not to run, and some of the same Washington Republicans who had been recruiting Sununu.Between mid-November and this weekend, Morse stayed largely under the radar while weighing a run, speaking with influential Republicans in New Hampshire and elsewhere but making no overt public announcements.On Sunday, Morse, confirming his decision to run, told WMUR that he was reluctant at this early stage to discuss specifics of his plan to show voters why he is the best candidate to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate and, more specifically, to show Republicans why he is in the best position to defeat Hassan.“But I obviously believe that I have what it takes to win a statewide race in the state of New Hampshire,” Morse said. ”I honestly believe that I’ve done a good job in New Hampshire on reducing taxes and growing the economy. Compare that to Washington.“Specifics on my positions will all come out toward the end of the month,” he said.Carney has been the lead partner, along with his wife, Lauren Carney, and James McKay, of Norway Hill Associates, a small but influential shop in rural Hancock.Carney has long worked with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and previously with former Texas Gov. and presidential candidate Rick Perry. A small sampling of his long list of clients includes former Gov. John H. Sununu, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s short-lived presidential campaign a decade ago, former President Bush (41) and the late U.S. Senate Majority Leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole.“Chuck has the experience and a record of delivering balanced budgets,” Carney said. “He worked his way through college and turned his passion for landscaping into a very successful business.“He’s not a political hack. He has been the town moderator, he has been involved in the Boys and Girls Club and he was in the House before being elected to the Senate,” Carney said. “He’s a very authentic guy. He is an example of what’s great about New Hampshire.”Carney explained that Morse entered the “testing the waters” category under FEC regulations soon after Gov. Chris Sununu made his announcement. Under those requirements, Morse (and any potential candidate for federal office) was able to raise $2,900 per individual in contributions.Morse and Carney both said in separate interviews that the phase was successful, and with a formal campaign organization now being formed, the funds raised under “‘testing the waters” will now be applied to the campaign.At the same time, efforts are underway to secure an experienced Granite State operative as a campaign manager, with an announcement expected soon. “Chuck is a pretty formidable fundraiser,” Carney said, “both for himself and as the leader of the PAC that raises money for the state Senate Republicans.“I think the amount of money he raised during that time, including the two weeks over the holidays, provided enough commitment of support to give him confidence that this is the right thing to do,” Carney said.Smith, meanwhile, told WMUR last week that he has had successful talks with potential donors and intends to make an announcement about a possible candidacy this week. Sources say he has also been working informally with a major well-known New Hampshire-based consultant. Budget expertMorse is a Salem native currently serving his eighth two-year term in the state Senate. He previously served two terms in the New Hampshire House.He has been Senate president or Senate Minority Leader since 2013 and previously chaired the Senate Finance Committee.He is viewed as an expert in budgetary matters who has veered away from ideological battles, but his recent support for conservative policy measures in the current state budget trailer bill – such as the state’s 24-week abortion ban, an “education freedom accounts” voucher program and anti-discrimination language viewed by Democrats as “divisive concepts/anti-critical race theory” – will likely be points of contention during the upcoming campaign.Morse has generally steered clear of commentary on Donald Trump and the former presidents unfounded claims that the 2020 election was rigged or “stolen,” but he and other Republican candidates will be pressed to address these issues in the coming weeks and months.Meanwhile, Morse’s role as chair of the finance committee and Senate president has given him major influence over five state budgets and has placed him in the middle of virtually every significant policy issue the Legislature has faced over the past decide.A graduate of Plymouth State University with a B.A. in business, Morse is married to Susan Morse and the couple has a daughter, Emma. Update: Democrats quickly attacked Morse for declining to lay out the specifics of why he believes he can defeat Hassan.With Bolduc in the race and Smith apparently about to enter, the Democrats are reveling in what has been described by some political observers as a “B-list” of candidates who lag far behind Hassan in fundraising and name recognition.“Chuck Morse is entering what is about to become a messy and divisive primary, which Republicans were hoping to avoid,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley. “Chuck Morse is an anti-choice, anti-education politician who has championed extreme legislation like an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal anomaly, as well as school vouchers that raise property taxes. Republicans are going to spend the next eight months embroiled in a race to the far right that will seriously damage whoever emerges as their nominee.”

      State Senate President Chuck Morse has decided to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and plans to file a statement of organization creating a campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, Morse and his recently hired consultant confirmed Sunday.

      The statement of organization will allow Morse to begin raising money in earnest toward the effort, while a separate formal of statement of candidacy will be filed later in the month ahead of a planned major launch event at Morse’s Freshwater Farms and Garden Center in Atkinson.

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      Morse, 61, of Salem, will be the second Republican to formally become a candidate to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, joining retired Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc.

      Another Republican, Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith, is expected to become a candidate within the next several weeks. If Smith definitely runs, he must first address his current job managing operations in the Rockingham County community.

      Business magnate Bill Binnie and former U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta are still viewed as potential candidates on the GOP side but have not taken formal steps toward running.

      The general consultant for the Morse campaign will be David Carney of Hancock, a nationally known GOP operative who began his career working with former Gov. John H. Sununu and rose to become political director of the George H.W. Bush White House in the late 1980s.

      Carney praised Morse as a policy-driven conservative with a no-nonsense style who has the capability to take on and defeat Hassan.

      Hassan is already in the midst of an aggressive campaign, having raised $14.4 million toward her reelection effort, which she announced in December 2020, in a series of record-setting fundraising quarters.

      Of that total, $3.1 million was raised in the fourth quarter of 2021, when her campaign also reported entering 2022 with $5.3 million in cash on hand.

      Morse has said that he had strongly considered running for governor when it appeared through much of last year that current Gov. Chris Sununu would mount a campaign for the U.S. Senate and would be the leading contender to try to deny Hassan a second term.

      Sununu was heavily recruited by Washington Republicans hoping to win at least one seat in the 50-50 U.S. Senate to shift control back to the GOP after Democrats won control by the single tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020.

      But when Sununu shocked political observers in New Hampshire and Washington, D.C. on Nov. 9 by announcing he will run for a fourth term as governor and not the U.S. Senate seat, Morse shifted gears and, at the urging of Sununu and others, began looking seriously at running for the U.S. Senate. He said he received calls of encouragement from former U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte and Scott Brown, both of whom quickly decided not to run, and some of the same Washington Republicans who had been recruiting Sununu.

      Between mid-November and this weekend, Morse stayed largely under the radar while weighing a run, speaking with influential Republicans in New Hampshire and elsewhere but making no overt public announcements.

      On Sunday, Morse, confirming his decision to run, told WMUR that he was reluctant at this early stage to discuss specifics of his plan to show voters why he is the best candidate to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate and, more specifically, to show Republicans why he is in the best position to defeat Hassan.

      “But I obviously believe that I have what it takes to win a statewide race in the state of New Hampshire,” Morse said. ”I honestly believe that I’ve done a good job in New Hampshire on reducing taxes and growing the economy. Compare that to Washington.

      “Specifics on my positions will all come out toward the end of the month,” he said.

      Carney has been the lead partner, along with his wife, Lauren Carney, and James McKay, of Norway Hill Associates, a small but influential shop in rural Hancock.

      Carney has long worked with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and previously with former Texas Gov. and presidential candidate Rick Perry. A small sampling of his long list of clients includes former Gov. John H. Sununu, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s short-lived presidential campaign a decade ago, former President Bush (41) and the late U.S. Senate Majority Leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole.

      “Chuck has the experience and a record of delivering balanced budgets,” Carney said.

      “He worked his way through college and turned his passion for landscaping into a very successful business.

      “He’s not a political hack. He has been the town moderator, he has been involved in the Boys and Girls Club and he was in the House before being elected to the Senate,” Carney said. “He’s a very authentic guy. He is an example of what’s great about New Hampshire.”

      Carney explained that Morse entered the “testing the waters” category under FEC regulations soon after Gov. Chris Sununu made his announcement. Under those requirements, Morse (and any potential candidate for federal office) was able to raise $2,900 per individual in contributions.

      Morse and Carney both said in separate interviews that the phase was successful, and with a formal campaign organization now being formed, the funds raised under “‘testing the waters” will now be applied to the campaign.

      At the same time, efforts are underway to secure an experienced Granite State operative as a campaign manager, with an announcement expected soon.

      “Chuck is a pretty formidable fundraiser,” Carney said, “both for himself and as the leader of the PAC that raises money for the state Senate Republicans.

      “I think the amount of money he raised during that time, including the two weeks over the holidays, provided enough commitment of support to give him confidence that this is the right thing to do,” Carney said.

      Smith, meanwhile, told WMUR last week that he has had successful talks with potential donors and intends to make an announcement about a possible candidacy this week. Sources say he has also been working informally with a major well-known New Hampshire-based consultant.

      Budget expert

      Morse is a Salem native currently serving his eighth two-year term in the state Senate. He previously served two terms in the New Hampshire House.

      He has been Senate president or Senate Minority Leader since 2013 and previously chaired the Senate Finance Committee.

      He is viewed as an expert in budgetary matters who has veered away from ideological battles, but his recent support for conservative policy measures in the current state budget trailer bill – such as the state’s 24-week abortion ban, an “education freedom accounts” voucher program and anti-discrimination language viewed by Democrats as “divisive concepts/anti-critical race theory” – will likely be points of contention during the upcoming campaign.

      Morse has generally steered clear of commentary on Donald Trump and the former presidents unfounded claims that the 2020 election was rigged or “stolen,” but he and other Republican candidates will be pressed to address these issues in the coming weeks and months.

      Meanwhile, Morse’s role as chair of the finance committee and Senate president has given him major influence over five state budgets and has placed him in the middle of virtually every significant policy issue the Legislature has faced over the past decide.

      A graduate of Plymouth State University with a B.A. in business, Morse is married to Susan Morse and the couple has a daughter, Emma.

      Update: Democrats quickly attacked Morse for declining to lay out the specifics of why he believes he can defeat Hassan.

      With Bolduc in the race and Smith apparently about to enter, the Democrats are reveling in what has been described by some political observers as a “B-list” of candidates who lag far behind Hassan in fundraising and name recognition.

      “Chuck Morse is entering what is about to become a messy and divisive primary, which Republicans were hoping to avoid,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley.

      “Chuck Morse is an anti-choice, anti-education politician who has championed extreme legislation like an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal anomaly, as well as school vouchers that raise property taxes. Republicans are going to spend the next eight months embroiled in a race to the far right that will seriously damage whoever emerges as their nominee.”