Maggie Hassan

Early life and education

Margaret Wood was born in Boston on February 27, 1958, and grew up in the Boston suburb of Lincoln, where she sang in school choirs and at church. Her parents were both involved in politics. Her father, Robert Coldwell Wood, was a political scientist who helped found the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Her mother was head of their local chapter of the League of Women Voters. She described family dinners as discussions where her father in turn asked everyone at the table, including her and any guests, to comment. She has two siblings, including Tony Award-winning actor Frank Wood.

Hassan attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, Massachusetts, graduating in 1976. In 1980 she graduated from Brown University with a bachelor's degree. She worked as an information officer with the Massachusetts Department of Social Services from 1980 to 1982. From 1985 to 1992, she worked at the Boston law firm Palmer & Dodge. She graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 1985 with a juris doctor and worked as an attorney from 1985 to 1992. She worked as assistant general counsel at Brigham and Women's Hospital from 1993 to 1996. She then returned to work as an attorney from 1996 to 2009. From 1993 to 1996, Hassan was associate general counsel for Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Hassan became a disability rights activist when her son with cerebral palsy began school and she sought accommodations for him. This led Governor Jeanne Shaheen to appoint Hassan citizen advisor for the Adequacy in Education and Finance Commission in 1999.

New Hampshire Senate

In the 2002 election, Democratic leadership asked Hassan to run to represent New Hampshire's 23rd State Senate District, which includes East Kingston, Exeter, Kensington, Kingston, Newfields, Newmarket, Newton, Seabrook, South Hampton and Stratham. She believed her job and family meant she would not have time to hold political office, but she ran after her husband's encouragement. She lost to incumbent Republican Russell Prescott, 54% to 46%, but ran again in 2004 and defeated Prescott in a rematch, 52% to 48%. In 2006, she was reelected against Natalie Healy, 60% to 40%. In 2008, she defeated Lee Quandt, 57% to 43%.

Hassan held leadership positions in the New Hampshire Senate, including assistant Democratic whip and president pro tempore. She also chaired the Capital Budget and Public Municipal Affairs Committees. She helped pass the FY2008-09 budget.

In 2008, Senate President Sylvia Larsen chose Hassan to serve as Senate Majority Leader, the number two position in the New Hampshire Senate. Larsen said she chose Hassan because she wanted someone who would fight to get the Democratic caucus to support the same agenda, at times creating friction between Hassan and her Republican colleagues. She was majority leader from 2008 to 2010.

Hassan supported Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

In 2010, Hassan proposed a healthcare regulation system called "Maggie Care" by her opponents in reference to the Affordable Care Act's nickname "Obamacare". Her proposed commission was created, but she was unable to grant it the power to limit rates.

Hassan helped pass the FY2010-11 budget. This budget increased spending by over $1 billion and contained 33 tax and fee increases, including on campsites and hotel rooms, New Hampshire businesses, and vehicle registration fees.

Hassan served in the New Hampshire Senate for six years. She lost to Prescott in the 2010 election, 53% to 47%. This was one of many losses for Democrats across the country in a year where Republicans performed exceptionally well. The New Hampshire Republican Party gained control of both the state House and state Senate.

New Hampshire Senate committee assignments

Capital Budget Committee

Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection

Finance

Public and Municipal Affairs (Chair)

Energy, Environment, and Economic Development (Vice Chair)

Internal Affairs Committee

Executive Department and Administration Committee

New Hampshire Senate caucus membership

Congressional Coalition on Adoption

Governor of New Hampshire

2012 election

Hassan announced her candidacy for governor of New Hampshire in October 2011, one month after incumbent governor John Lynch announced his retirement. She was the first Democrat to enter the gubernatorial race. Hassan won the Democratic primary election with 54% of the vote, defeating state senator Jackie Cilley and firefighter Bill Kennedy. She faced Republican nominee Ovide Lamontagne in the general election. Hassan described Lamontagne as a Tea Party candidate, while Lamontagne criticized her for advocating high taxes and spending and a lack of business experience.

Hassan campaigned on the economy and higher education. She took a fiscally conservative stance and opposed a state income tax. She also spoke in favor of implementing the Affordable Care Act.

Matt Burgess managed Hassan's campaign and senior consultants included media consultant Joe Slade White. Independent expenditure groups spent more than $11 million on Hassan's behalf. Major financial support for her campaign came from the Washington, D.C.–based Democratic Governor's Association, the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the National Education Association.

The Democratic Party performed well in New Hampshire's 2012 elections. Hassan received 55% of the vote to Lamontagne's 43% and carried every county in the state. Her election made New Hampshire the first state whose governor and entire Congressional delegation were women. Hassan was the only woman running for governor in 2012.

First term as governor (2013–2015)

Hassan was sworn in as governor on January 3, 2013. She took office with a legislature split between Democrats and Republicans, and advocated bipartisanship. Hassan's major initiatives as governor involved funding for higher education, expanding mental health services, and support for gambling. The state had budget surpluses during her first term. Critics accused Hassan of being too uninvolved in developing the state's budget.

The Democratic Governors Association selected Hassan as its vice chair in 2013. That year, she signed a bill creating a state sea level rise commission. Hassan passed a Medicaid expansion in 2014.

During a conflict between two sides of the Demoulas family, which owns the Market Basket grocery chain, Hassan urged the family to resolve the dispute, which threatened 9,000 jobs in New Hampshire.

Hassan did not live in the Governor's Mansion but in a colonial house on the campus of the school of which her husband was principal. The last governor to live in the Governor's Mansion was Meldrim Thomson in the 1970s.

2014 election

Hassan ran for reelection in 2014. She won the Democratic primary with 94% of the vote and faced businessman Walt Havenstein in the general election.

In August 2014, New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster, a Hassan appointee, ordered her to return $24,000 in campaign contributions that violated New Hampshire campaign finance laws. In October 2014, Hassan was ordered to return another $25,000 in funds a union donated to her gubernatorial campaign because the union had not properly registered with the state as a political committee.

Havenstein campaigned on corporate tax cuts, opposition to gambling, and support for right-to-work laws. Hassan was reelected with 53% of the vote to Havenstein's 47%. She carried seven of 10 counties. Her victory was a win for Democrats in a year when they otherwise performed poorly.

Second term as governor (2015–2017)

The Republican Party controlled both chambers of New Hampshire's legislature during Hassan's second term, challenging her ability to enact her policies.

The opioid epidemic remained a major issue in Hassan's second term. Opponents criticized her for taking insufficient action, and she responded by saying the state needed more federal assistance to address the issue. Her second term also included a renewed fight to extend New Hampshire's Medicaid expansion, which Republicans opposed.

In 2015, Hassan took the rare step of vetoing a budget created by the state legislature.

In July 2015, Hassan vetoed a bill that would have removed the licensing requirement for carrying concealed firearms. In response to New Hampshire's opioid crisis, she appointed Jack Wozmak the state's "drug czar" in early 2015. He resigned a year later in response to complaints about his job performance. Hassan also worked to preserve funding for the state's Planned Parenthood clinics and approved bonds to fund the redevelopment of The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel. Low unemployment during her tenure boosted Hassan's approval rating.

Hassan resigned as governor on January 2, 2017, to prepare for her swearing-in to the U.S. Senate. Senate President Chuck Morse became acting governor.

U.S. Senate

2016 election

As a popular governor, Hassan was considered a likely Senate candidate in the 2016 election. Early polling suggested she had a high chance of winning, and both parties were running ads about her before she entered the race. Hassan announced her candidacy in October 2015. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary and she faced incumbent Kelly Ayotte in the general election.

The race in New Hampshire was set to be close, and it was seen as a major factor in which party would control the Senate. Hassan campaigned on reducing the influence of corporations and special interests in federal politics. Her campaign sought to associate Ayotte with the Republican Party's presidential nominee, Donald Trump, who was polling behind his opponent in New Hampshire. Ayotte moderated her positions and accused Hassan of being too closely aligned with the Democratic Party. During the campaign, Hassan was sometimes seen as too rigid while speaking. Ayotte criticized Hassan for running on generic platitudes without giving a specific rationale for running.

Hassan's campaign was affected by a sex scandal at the school where Hassan's husband was principal. A teacher accused of sexual relations with students was involved in Hassan's campaign after the allegations were made in 2011.

Hassan campaigned on abortion rights, and was endorsed by the pro-choice Democratic political action committee EMILY's List, which had also backed her gubernatorial campaigns.

Hassan endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. She was scrutinized for evading a question about whether Clinton was "honest and trustworthy", only later correcting her answer to say that she was.

Hassan said climate change and reproductive rights would be her top priorities as a senator. Hassan and Ayotte were also distinguished by their positions on gun control, as Hassan supported restrictions and Ayotte opposed them.

Hassan defeated Ayotte by 1,017 votes, less than one percentage point. She was one of two Senate candidates to unseat an incumbent Republican that year. Hassan declared victory before the election was called, when 299 of 300 precincts had reported their results and she led by 692 votes. Ayotte conceded without requesting a recount. Hassan became the second woman, after Shaheen, to serve as both a governor and a US Senator.

First US Senate term (2017–2023)

Hassan joined the Senate as one of its more moderate Democrats. She used her first speech on the Senate floor to address the opioid epidemic.

Hassan was critical of Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's nominee for United States Secretary of Education, for being insufficiently supportive of children with disabilities. Her questioning of DeVos during her Senate confirmation hearing, where Hassan criticized her for being unfamiliar with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, increased Hassan's national profile.

Hassan was appointed to the Senate Committee on Finance in 2019.

During her first term, Hassan became chairwoman of the Women's Senate Network within the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Hassan focused on the opioid epidemic during her first term, as New Hampshire had the third-highest rate of drug overdose deaths, and worked with other legislators from the state to increase funding for the issue. She criticized the Trump administration in a Time magazine op-ed for insufficient action against the epidemic.

A former system administrator from Hassan's staff who had been fired in 2018 used another staff member's access to hack the Senate's computers and release the personal information of five Republican senators who were involved in Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Another aide pleaded guilty to giving him access.

Hassan suspended an intern for a week in 2018 for shouting an expletive at Trump, but cautioned that the intern's incivility should not be compared to Trump's. Hassan rejected demands that she fire the intern.

Hassan opposed Trump's nomination of William Barr as attorney general in 2019 because of his stance on executive power and his opinion on the Mueller special counsel investigation.

Hassan was on the shortlist to be selected as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 presidential election, but Kamala Harris was ultimately chosen.

2022 election

Hassan ran for reelection in 2022 and won the Democratic primary with 94% of the vote.

New Hampshire was one of the six competitive Senate races in 2022, and one of four being defended by Democrats. Hassan's path to reelection was considered especially difficult because Republicans had two popular contenders, Governor Chris Sununu and former Senator Kelly Ayotte. Both declined, and the Republican nomination went to retired general Don Bolduc. Bolduc was criticized within his own party for holding far-right beliefs and promoting conspiracy theories. Both Hassan and Bolduc struggled in polling. Buldoc challenged Hassan to seven debates, and Hassan eventually agreed to one televised debate and two non-televised.

Abortion and inflation were the main issues in Hassan's reelection campaign. Hassan campaigned on abortion rights, an issue that brought strong turnout in her favor after Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade and a previous fight over abortion restrictions in New Hampshire. Bolduc campaigned against inflation and tied Hassan to the Biden administration's unpopular handling of the economy. Hassan also campaigned on gas prices in 2022, including support for a gas tax holiday and release of oil from the federal oil reserve.

Hassan won reelection with 53% of the vote to Bolduc's 44%.

Second US Senate term (2023–present)

Hassan criticized the Democratic National Committee for moving the party's first presidential primary election from New Hampshire to South Carolina in 2024.

Hassan was among the Democrats who criticized Trump's choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2025, citing her son's experiences with cerebral palsy to criticize Kennedy's spreading of misinformation about medical science.

Hassan was one of eight Democratic-aligned senators who voted to end the 2025 shutdown of the federal government, and one of three who then voted to confirm Trump's judicial nominees.

In 2026, Hassan launched an investigation into Homeland Security official Corey Lewandowski in her role on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

U.S. Senate committee assignments

Committee on Finance

Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

Subcommittee on Children and Families

Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight (Chair)

Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management

Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management

Committee on Veterans Affairs

Joint Economic Committee

Political positions

Hassan has been described as a centrist or moderate Democratic and advocates bipartisanship. She is often a swing vote in the Senate. Hassan opposes using reconciliation to enact progressive policy.

Hassan is known for being especially polished and on-message when speaking, which critics consider rigid and repetitive.

Abortion

Hassan opposes New Hampshire's 24-week abortion ban as too restrictive. She has said that abortion is an issue of women's rights and women's safety. Hassan supported requiring insurance companies to cover over-the-counter contraception.

Crime

As governor, Hassan supported a stronger state trooper presence and the creation of a new women's prison. She signed laws to combat domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual abuse, and parental rights for rapists.

Hassan advocated the creation of a receiving facility for mental health services in New Hampshire, and pushed for an increase in funding for mental health in response to a class action lawsuit by the United States Department of Justice.

Hassan has said cryptocurrency should be regulated because of its use in ransomware attacks and other criminal activity.

Drug policy

As governor, Hassan signed legislation to legalize medical cannabis but said she would veto any bill that came to her desk to legalize recreational cannabis. As of 2020, NORML, an organization that seeks legalization, gave Hassan a C− grade as a U.S. senator due to her actions as governor.

Hassan supports combating the illegal drug market by providing treatment for fentanyl users to reduce demand.

Economy

During her first campaign for governor, Hassan opposed a broad-based tax and tax breaks for businesses. She wanted to legalize gambling in New Hampshire and supported the creation of a casino to increase revenue for the state. She oversaw the passage of a state fuel tax increase. Hassan supported a balanced budget in New Hampshire.

Hassan signed measures to guarantee workers' right to discuss their payment with one another, and expanded the deadline for discrimination complaints from one year to three. New Hampshire became the first state to guarantee minimum wage to workers with disabilities when Hassan signed protections into law. She vetoed an anti-bullying bill for public employees out of concern that it was too broad. Hassan introduced a bill to the Senate that would guarantee the right of firefighters and emergency medical services to unionize.

Hassan opposed increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2021 out of concern for how it would affect small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she instead supported an increase to $12 per hour.

Hassan split with Congress to support the Biden administration's proposal to temporarily waive the federal fuel tax in 2022.

While campaigning for reelection in 2022, Hassan expressed support for increasing the cap on income taxes that go into Social Security, suggesting that the rich "pay a little bit more into the system".

As governor, Hassan launched the Live Free and Start program to encourage tech startup companies to go to New Hampshire.

Hassan opposed the Trump administration's tariffs, saying they were causing inflation and hurting American's retirement savings.

Hassan has accused oil companies of raising prices despite record profits.

Hassan supported raising New Hampshire's cigarette tax and car registration fees in 2015.

Education

Hassan supported increased spending for higher education as governor. She oversaw the reduction of community college tuition and the freezing of state university tuition. She also doubled tax credits for research and development in universities.

Hassan vetoed a bill that would have challenged the use of Common Core standards in New Hampshire.

In 2022, Hassan called for an investigation to determine whether student loan providers misled borrowers of non-qualified loans on their rights following bankruptcy.

Hassan has argued that school vouchers disadvantage students with disabilities by leaving them in public schools while other students are able to attend private schools.

Hassan supports reforming how elementary schools and high schools assess students.

Environment

As a state senator, Hassan pushed to reduce mercury emissions in coal power plants.

Hassan advocates a stronger response to prevent climate change.

Firearms

In 2012, the National Review reported that Hassan had a "D" grade from the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF). She supports a background check system to avoid gun sales to the mentally ill. She was supported by Gabby Giffords and Michael Bloomberg in the 2016 election.

In March 2018, Hassan was one of 10 senators to sign a letter to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander and ranking Democrat Patty Murray requesting they schedule a hearing on the causes and remedies of mass shootings in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Hassan opposed a bill that would have granted the right to concealed carry without a license.

Foreign policy

In 2019, Hassan was among 23 Senate Democrats to vote for a resolution criticizing excessive withdrawal from Syria and Afghanistan.

In 2021, Hassan introduced legislation tying foreign aid to prevention of fentanyl trafficking.

In October 2023, Hassan visited China as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and met with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping. The delegation also met Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji, and Shanghai Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining.

Hassan endorsed the airstrike on Syria Trump ordered in 2017 as retaliation for a Syrian chemical attack against its own people, but insisted that Trump not take further action without consulting Congress and international allies.

Following the 2021 American withdrawal from Afghanistan, Hassan criticized Biden's decision to follow a deadline for withdrawal, which she called arbitrary.

Hassan believes the US should support Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war and said it is important to support democracies.

Gay rights

Hassan was an early Democratic supporter of same-sex marriage and helped legalize it in New Hampshire while in the state senate. She presented three versions of a same-sex marriage bill, one of which gained enough support to pass both chambers.

Health and healthcare

Hassan supported regulating healthcare costs in New Hampshire while she was in the state senate.

Hassan obtained a Medicaid expansion for New Hampshire through the Affordable Care Act.

As governor, Hassan sought an increase to the cigarette tax.

Hassan opposed Trump's healthcare reform in 2017 because it would reduce Medicaid spending, making it harder to combat the opioid epidemic.

Following a complaint by a constituent, Hassan passed a bill in 2020 regulating hidden fees in medical bills.

Hassan introduced a bill that would prevent discrimination against patients with disabilities when seeking organ transplants.

Hassan endorsed the Biden administration's decision to reduce restrictions on the prescription of buprenorphine as an alternative to opioids.

Immigration

Hassan supports strengthening border control and criticized the Biden administration for insufficiently vetting immigrants. She split with the Democratic Party in 2022 when she supported retaining Title 42 expulsion, which allowed the government to expel asylum seekers as a means to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She was criticized for traveling to the Mexico–United States border in 2022 and recording a video by the border wall to express support for retaining Title 42 expulsion. Both major parties responded negatively, describing the trip as a photo op, with especially strong backlash from Latino political groups.

Hassan criticized the travel ban implemented by the Trump administration in 2017, calling it "a backdoor Muslim ban".

Of the possibility of a border wall, Hassan said she supported closing gaps in physical barriers.

Hassan supported barring entrance for Syrian refugees during the Syrian refugee crisis until vetting procedures were expanded.

In 2025, Hassan was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.

Infrastructure and transportation

As governor, Hassan unsuccessfully pushed for a commuter rail to Boston.

As a senator, Hassan passed legislation in 2017 protecting passenger rights following the violent removal of a passenger on a United Airlines flight and granting protections for passengers with disabilities.

Hassan supports the expansion of broadband internet and incorporated it into infrastructure legislation in 2021.

Hassan voted in favor of seat belt legislation while serving in the New Hampshire Senate.

Hassan said her priority on infrastructure was to obtain bipartisan support instead of including all the Biden administration's policies.

Journalism

In July 2019, Hassan cosponsored the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, a bill introduced by Ben Cardin and Rob Portman that would create a new memorial funded privately and constructed on federal land in Washington, D.C. to honor journalists, photographers, and broadcasters who died in the line of duty.

Judiciary

Hassan has supported term limits for Supreme Court justices but opposes increasing the court's size.

National security

Hassan has pushed for expanding cybersecurity measures, including the establishment of Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity coordinators with each state. As governor, she formed the New Hampshire Cybersecurity Integration Center.

Hassan introduced provisions into the annual defense budget to prevent women in the military from paying more for their uniforms.

Hassan opposes closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, breaking with her party.

Personal life

Hassan is a member of the United Church of Christ. She is married to Thomas Hassan, a principal of Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, whom she met while attending Brown University. In 2016, The Association of Boarding Schools censured Thomas Hassan for failing to disclose a former Phillips Exeter teacher's sexual misconduct. They have two children, and she cites her son's cerebral palsy as a reason for entering politics.

Hassan has received honorary doctorates from the University of New Hampshire (2013), Northeastern University (2013), Southern New Hampshire University (2014), New Hampshire Institute of Art (2015), New England College (2016), and UNH School of Law (2017).

Electoral history