By John DiStaso
May 13, 2021
(WMUR) – KEY ENDORSEMENT. Sen. Maggie Hassan’s support for reform of federal campaign finance and voting laws has earned her the endorsement of the combined progressive nonprofit End Citizens United and Let America Vote.
The backing, first disclosed to New Hampshire Primary Source, is not unexpected. Hassan was End Citizen United’s first-ever Senate endorsement in the 2016 election and has consistently voted in agreement with the group’s positions during her first term.
But with Hassan under constant attack by conservative groups as she seeks a second term, this endorsement is critical for her to counter the expected dumping of millions of dollars into the state to oppose her by those groups.
“Senator Hassan understands that the voices of New Hampshire families are drowned out when a handful of billionaires and special interests are able to shell out unlimited and undisclosed sums of campaign money to control legislative outcomes,” said ECU/LAV President Tiffany Muller. “That’s why, throughout her career, she has proven to be a champion of common sense reforms to shine a light on the flood of dark money in politics and supporting efforts to undo the impact of the disastrous Citizens United decision.
“Senator Hassan’s leadership is an integral part of why the For the People Act is the top priority in the Senate. We look forward to helping her win.”
Hassan supported the Democratic voting reform bill known as the For the People Act as it made its way through the U.S. House and is now the subject of negotiations in the U.S. Senate.
Hassan, like her fellow Democratic members of the New Hampshire congressional delegation, sharply differed with Secretary of State Bill Gardner when he issued a statement in March saying the For the People Act “could put our presidential primary in a perilous position.”
Gardner stood by the statement that the bill “could put the New Hampshire primary in a perilous position” while testifying remotely before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in April. But in that testimony, he acknowledged that if passed, the bill “would not specifically have an effect” on the primary.
Hassan said through a spokesperson at the time, “This bill has nothing to do with the presidential nominating calendar and Senator Hassan will always stand up to protect New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation status.”
In the 2016, prior to its merger with Let America Vote, End Citizens United spent $2.1 million on the U.S. Senate race in support of Hassan. Since then, ECU/LAV supported U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas in his successful candidacies for the 1st District seat in 2018 and 2020 and also backed Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 2020.
Let America Vote launched had a significant grassroots effort in the 2018 cycle on behalf of state legislative candidates as Democrats won the New Hampshire House and Senate majorities that year.
ECU/LAV is a traditional PAC that adheres to contribution limits. It says it has a goal of ending the influence in elections of super PACs and organizations that are not required to disclose their donors.