Jim Rubens
Jim Rubens was a 2016 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from New Hampshire.[1] Rubens was defeated by incumbent Kelly Ayotte in the Republican primary on September 13, 2016.[2]
Rubens was a 2014 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from New Hampshire.[3] Rubens lost to Scott Brown in the primary election on September 9, 2014.[4]
Issues
Mayday Super PAC
"Mayday," a Super PAC that aims "to help elect lawmakers of both parties who support proposals to diminish the influence of big donors," announced that they would spend $4 million in campaign advertisements for New Hampshire's 2014 U.S. Senate race.[5] However, rather than supporting either party's front-runner, Mayday said that they would be supporting Republican candidate and former state Senator Jim Rubens in his primary against Scott Brown. In response to criticism for trying to fight big money's influence in politics by spending large amounts of money, co-founder Lawrence Lessig simply stated, "Embrace the irony."[5]
Elections
2016
The race for New Hampshire's U.S. Senate seat was one of nine competitive battleground races in 2016. Incumbent Kelly Ayotte (R) conceded defeat to challenger Maggie Hassan (D) on November 9, 2016. They were separated by less than 800 votes.[6][7]
After conceding, Ayotte said in a statement, “It has been a tremendous privilege to serve New Hampshire in the Senate and to make progress on addressing our heroin epidemic, making it easier for our small businesses to create good paying jobs, and supporting those who keep us safe in a dangerous world. This is a critical time for New Hampshire and our country, and now more than ever, we need to work together to address our challenges. The voters have spoken and now it’s time all of us to come together to get things done for the people of the Greatest State in this Nation and for the Greatest Country on Earth.”[8]
In her victory speech, Hassan said, "We know that this election exposed very serious divisions in our country, and it's up to all of us -- elected leaders and citizens -- now to come together and focus on our common challenges and our common opportunities. Our work going forward is going to be to remember what unites us as Americans and how we can make progress together."[9]
Hassan also defeated Libertarian candidate Brian Chabot.
During the campaign, Hassan attempted to tie Ayotte to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who lost the state to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Hassan's campaign manager, Marc Goldberg, said, "Trump helps. He unequivocally helps. [Ayotte] has this weight around her leg in Trump that she's dragging around."[10]
Ayotte’s strategy was to distance herself from the top of the ticket and run a local campaign focused on issues that impacted New Hampshirites. Although she initially said that she would vote for Trump, on October 8, 2016, Ayotte withdrew her support for Trump after The Washington Post released a 2005 video of Trump making comments about women that were described as "extremely lewd." She added that she would cast her vote for Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Ayotte also chose to skip the Republican National Convention, preferring to attend campaign events across her state. She frequently spoke about her role in passing a bipartisan bill in the Senate that would help New Hampshire address its opioid abuse crisis and about her national security credentials.[11][12][13][14]
Ayotte and Hassan both tried to define themselves as independent candidates who would stand up to members of their parties and special interest groups, in order to gain the support of independent voters in the state. Their task was difficult as outside groups tried to define these candidates by pouring nearly $91 million into the race. The candidates themselves had spent a combined total of $30.5 million, according to The Center for Responsive Politics.[15][16][17][18]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Maggie Hassan |
48% | 354,649 | |
| Republican | Kelly Ayotte Incumbent | 47.9% | 353,632 | |
| Independent | Aaron Day | 2.4% | 17,742 | |
| Libertarian | Brian Chabot | 1.7% | 12,597 | |
| Total Votes | 738,620 | |||
| Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kelly Ayotte Incumbent |
78.9% | 86,558 | ||
| Jim Rubens | 17.4% | 19,139 | ||
| Tom Alciere | 1.4% | 1,586 | ||
| Gerard Beloin | 1.1% | 1,252 | ||
| Stanley Emanuel | 1.1% | 1,187 | ||
| Total Votes | 109,722 | |||
| Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State |
||||
2014
Rubens ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. Senate, to represent New Hampshire. Rubens sought the Republican nomination in the primary on September 9, 2014, but was defeated by Scott Brown.[4]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Scott Brown |
50% | 58,775 | ||
| Jim Rubens | 23.1% | 27,089 | ||
| Bob Smith | 22.6% | 26,593 | ||
| Walter Kelly | 1.2% | 1,376 | ||
| Bob Heghmann | 0.7% | 784 | ||
| Andy Martin | 0.6% | 734 | ||
| Mark Farnham | 0.6% | 733 | ||
| Miroslaw Dziedzic | 0.4% | 508 | ||
| Gerard Beloin | 0.4% | 492 | ||
| Robert D'Arcy | 0.3% | 397 | ||
| Total Votes | 117,481 | |||
| Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State - Official Election Results |
||||
Campaign themes
2016
The following issues were listed on Rubens' campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.
| “ |
|
” |
| —Jim Rubens' campaign website | ||
Campaign finance summary
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Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "State Primary - September 13, 2016," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedprimaryresults16 - ↑ Sentinel Source, "Senate candidate Jim Rubens stops in Keene and Surry, talks issues," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Associated Press, "New Hampshire - 2014 Primary Results," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The New York Times, "Spending Big to Fight Big Donors in Campaigns," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Twitter, "The Associated Press," November 9, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Election Results," accessed November 14, 2016
- ↑ The Boston Herald, "Hassan narrowly beats Ayotte in Senate race," accessed November 14, 2016
- ↑ United Press International, Maggie Hassan narrowly defeats Kelly Ayotte for New Hampshire Senate seat, accessed November 14, 2016
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Trump challenges Republican chances in NH Senate race," accessed September 6, 2016
- ↑ New Hampshire Union Leader, "On the trail, it's all Hassan and no Trump for Ayotte," accessed September 10, 2016
- ↑ Concord Monitor, "Opioid bill sponsored by Shaheen, Ayotte heads to president’s desk," accessed September 10, 2016
- ↑ Concord Monitor, "In Republican debate, Ayotte brushes off Rubens to focus on Hassan," accessed September 10, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005," October 8, 2016
- ↑ WMUR.com, "Updated WMUR.com first: Outside spending in Ayotte-Hassan US Senate race now more than $55 million," accessed September 10, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Ayotte goes local during summer of Trump," accessed September 5, 2016
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Dems in New Hampshire supported by the secret money they rail against nationally," accessed September 10, 2016
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "New Hampshire Senate Race," accessed September 10, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
