A new dynasty appears to be taking shape in New Hampshire.
Stefany Shaheen, whose mother is retiring from the Senate, edged out veteran Maura Sullivan in a bruising primary on Tuesday, defying sparse polling that had her down in the competitive contest.
Shaheen received 28,197 votes and held a 37.3 percent lead over Sullivan’s 35 percent with 91 percent of votes counted as of early Wednesday. The Associated Press called the race at 12:35 a.m.
Both Shaheen and Sullivan had been vying to replace Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), who ran for the Senate seat being vacated by the former’s mother.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) has been a household name in New Hampshire politics for decades, having served as governor from 1997 through 2003 and as senator since 2009.
The 79-year-old had actively courted donors and worked to help her daughter in the primary for the fiercely competitive open House seat for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.
In fact, a whopping $740,000, or 39% of the total donations the Shaheen scion’s campaign received, came from donors who previously made contributions to her mother, Politico reported.
Stefany pointed to her time on the Portsmouth City Council and the Portsmouth Police Commission as evidence that she had experience to become a congresswoman based on her own merits.
She tried to cast herself as the most progressive of the top-tier candidates in the primary and even publicly split with her mother’s decision to back a deal to end the government shutdown last year.
But Sullivan’s allies crafted an ad bashing her “fancy last name.” During the final stretch of the primary, former Democratic contender Christian Urrutia and former Rep. Carol Shea-Porter both endorsed the Shaheen scion in a key last-minute boost.
Former Rep. Dennis Kucinich endorsed primary foe Carleigh Beriont during the final stretch as well. Beriont had generally polled significantly behind both Shaheen and Sullivan, though she appeared to get some momentum towards the end.
Sullivan, a former vice chair of the New Hampshire state Democratic Party, had worked to rally support from the party’s base, including in the Manchester area.
The New Hampshire primary has been the latest test of dynastic power this election cycle, following the victory of Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) in her primary last month, the defeat of Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg in a primary, Sen. Angus King’s (I-Maine) son losing a gubernatorial primary, and more.
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