Tulsi Gabbard endorses Bolduc at campaign stop in Laconia

LACONIA — Former Hawaii congresswoman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard appeared at Bernini Pizzeria and Wine Bar on Monday afternoon to endorse Republican candidate Don Bolduc for U.S. Senate.

The Italian restaurant was packed with onlookers, supporters and campaign staff. At the patio exit stood Bolduc, wearing his Laconia High School varsity jacket. Beside him were his campaign staff, Rep. Tim Lang and Gabbard.

After a makeshift Pledge of Allegiance using a hand-held flag in the corner of the bar and opening remarks from Lang, Gabbard took the microphone to endorse Bolduc.

“We came from an event in Loudon just before this and there was a woman there with a sweatshirt on that said it perfectly,” Gabbard opened. “'We the people are pissed off.'”

The crowd roared in approval. Bolduc and candidates like him are part of a new wave of Republicanism birthed from economic uncertainty and the COVID-19 pandemic response. Issues like inflation and fuel prices were at the forefront of Bolduc and Gabbard's remarks, as well as a general outrage at Washington establishment politicians.

“Mothers and fathers and retirees and people across this state are making a choice between heating and eating because of inflation due to bad energy decisions by Joe Biden and Sen. Hassan [that] have increased inflation to 8.2%. It will go up in December,” Bolduc said. “It is negatively affecting our livelihood. [Hassan] is in denial.”

Bolduc also attacked Hassan's recent refusal to debate him.

“We have leaders in Washington from both political parties who are out of touch with the reality of the struggles and challenges and the everyday lives of Americans here in New Hampshire and across the country,” Gabbard said.

There also came calls for unity, even across parties.

“If we say enough is enough, that Democrat, Republican, independent, Free Stater or Libertarian, it doesn't matter,” Bolduc said. “These are Granite Staters' problems and American problems that they have created. We must transcend these things that prevent us from coming together, and Tulsi and I, I believe, are a huge positive example of that.”

During this year's primary, state Senate President Chuck Morse was the establishment's pick. With the exception of Bolduc, who spent the previous two years campaigning, there were no other candidates who came close to disrupting his nomination. Bolduc beat Morse in the primary, but not without a little help.

While the outrage of voters against establishment candidates is a reliable and potent political fuel, Democrat PACs, like the one operated by Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, have spent millions of dollars across the country to make sure non-establishment candidates such as Bolduc beat out their more moderate and often more politically experienced counterparts. Schumer's campaign allegedly spent over $3 million on attack ads against Morse.

Their reasoning? Because Democrats think candidates like Bolduc are easier to defeat in general elections.

“All I can say is I think the right man won the primary election,” Gabbard said of her former party's strategy. The Hawaii congresswoman recently left the Democratic Party and became an independent. “Mr. Bolduc is somebody who thinks for himself, has the courage to stand on his convictions, and his convictions are rooted in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I'm glad he prevailed in the primary and I'm looking forward to him prevailing in the general election, as well.”

In her official statement and again at the event, Gabbard described the current Democratic Party as hostile toward freedom of speech and controlled by “elite warmongers” who are pushing the country closer to nuclear war and trampling on fundamental rights.

When asked to elaborate what finally pushed Gabbard to cut ties with the Democratic Party, Gabbard didn't pinpoint a specific event.

“I go into a lot of detail of what those big issues are, but ultimately they are rooted back to two things near and dear to my heart,” Gabbard explained. “[The Democratic Party] are actively undermining our fundamental freedoms and they're actively pushing us farther towards the brink of nuclear war.”

Gabbard was citing Vladimir Putin's recent threat to deploy low-yield, a.k.a. tactical, nuclear weapons in Ukraine. When asked if Putin would cross that line, Gabbard responded, “He has said that he would, and we should believe him in what he's saying.”