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Donald C. Bolduc

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Don Bolduc
Donald C. Bolduc.jpg
Personal details
Born1961/1962 (age 59–60)[1]
New Hampshire, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationSalem State University (BA)
United States Army War College (MS)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1981–2017
RankBrigadier General
CommandsCommander, Special Operations Command Africa
Deputy Director, U.S. Africa Command
Battles/warsOperation Medusa
Awards

Donald C. Bolduc is an American politician and retired United States Army brigadier general. Bolduc was a candidate in the 2020 New Hampshire senate race against incumbent Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen, but lost in the Republican Primary. He has declared his candidacy in the 2022 New Hampshire senate race against incumbent Maggie Hassan.[2]

Bolduc has endorsed the false conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was rigged to favor Joe Biden.

Early life and education

Bolduc is a native of Laconia, New Hampshire.[3] the son of Armand A. Bolduc (1939–2018) and Janet Gagne Bolduc (1940–2003).[4][5] His father was a farmer and served in the National Guard.[4] Bolduc earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Salem State University in 1989 and a Master of Science in security technologies from the United States Army War College.[6]

Career

Military service

Bolduc served ten tours in Afghanistan.[7] In 2006, he led the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group during Operation Medusa.[8] From 2010 to 2011, he served as Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force commander. From 2012 to 2013, he commanded the Combined Joint Special Operations Component, where he started the "Village Stability Operations" program.[9] Bolduc suffered a hip injury in a friendly fire incident in 2001 and a brain injury in 2005.[10][11]

Political campaigns and activities

In June 2019, Bolduc entered the 2020 United States Senate election in New Hampshire, seeking the Republican nomination to run against incumbent Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen. He lost the Republican primary to Trump-endorsed Corky Messner.[12] After the 2020 election, Bolduc closely tied himself to Trump,[13] and in February 2021 announced that he would run for Senate again in the 2022 election,[14] hoping to challenge Democratic incumbent Senator Maggie Hassan.[15]

Bolduc has endorsed the false[16] conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was rigged to favor Joe Biden. In May 2021, he was one of 124 retired generals and admirals who signed an open letter promoting the lie that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in Biden's favor.[17]

In a February 2021 op-ed in USA Today, Bolduc criticized the Afghanistan Study Group recommendation urging a reversal on the scheduled withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan. Bolduc urged the Biden administration to stick with the withdrawal deadline as set by the Trump administration.[18] In September 2021, he joined former acting defense secretary Christopher Miller in calling for the resignation of General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, describing his actions in the final weeks of Trump's presidency as irresponsible and potentially treasonous.[19]

In November 2021, Chris Sununu announced that he would seek reelection as governor and would not run for U.S. Senate; the announcement was viewed as a setback for the Republicans' hopes of winning Hassan's seat.[13][20] After Sununu's announcement, Bolduc gave a conspiracy-filled interview on conservative talk radio in which he denounced Sununu, a fellow Republican, as a "Chinese Communist sympathizer" and claimed that Sununu's business "supports terrorism."[13]

References

  1. ^ Retired General to Run for New Hampshire Senate Seat
  2. ^ DiStaso, John (2020-11-09). "Gen. Don Bolduc wastes no time announcing 2022 US Senate candidacy to take on Hassan". WMUR. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  3. ^ "2020 candidate profile: Don Bolduc (R)". WMUR. September 4, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Armand A. Bolduc". Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services. 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  5. ^ "Janet 'Jan' L. Bolduc". Wilkinson-Beane Funeral Home & Cremation Services. 2003. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  6. ^ Searcey, Dionne (2016-10-07). "A General's New Mission: Leading a Charge Against PTSD". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  7. ^ Murgatroyd, Laura (June 27, 2019). "After serving his country for 36 years, this retired army general now wants to serve in the Senate". Military Times.
  8. ^ Fraser, David (2018). Operation Medusa: The Furious Battle That Saved Afghanistan from the Taliban. ISBN 9780771039300.
  9. ^ "General Bolduc - Reflections in Command of Special Operations". Patch Media. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  10. ^ Searcey, Dionne (October 7, 2016). "A General's New Mission: Leading a Charge Against PTSD". New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2021. When a bomb dropped on his position in Afghanistan in 2001 — a friendly fire accident — General Bolduc's hip was badly damaged. ... General Bolduc learned that not only did he suffer from PTSD, but he also had a bullet-size spot on his brain, an injury probably dating to his helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2005.
  11. ^ Morang, Ralph (June 3, 2018). "Army General Prefers Therapy, Not Medication". Foster's Daily Democrat. Retrieved August 24, 2021. combat veterans can have injuries that do not show: Post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries. Bolduc has both.
  12. ^ Rogers, Josh (June 24, 2019). "Don Bolduc Enters 2020 Senate Race As First Republican Challenger To Jeanne Shaheen". www.nhpr.org.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ a b c Tal Axelrod, Sununu setback leaves GOP scrambling in New Hampshire, The Hill (November 21, 2021).
  14. ^ DiStaso, John (November 9, 2020). "Gen. Don Bolduc wastes no time announcing 2022 US Senate candidacy to take on Hassan". Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  15. ^ Adam Sexton [@AdamSextonWMUR] (December 4, 2020). "No surprise here but now it's official: @Maggie_Hassan is running for re-election in 2022. Full interview will air Sunday 10am on @WMUR9 CloseUp. #NHPolitics #NHSen #WMUR" (Tweet). Retrieved February 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Multiple sources:
  17. ^ Bender, Bryan (May 11, 2021). "'Disturbing and Reckless': Retired Brass Spread Election Lie in Attack on Biden, Democrats". Politico. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  18. ^ Bolduc, Don. "Withdraw troops as Trump administration scheduled. The Afghanistan Study Group is wrong". USA TODAY.
  19. ^ Staff, Fox News (2021-09-16). "Retired general calls for Milley's resignation: Actions 'somewhere between treason and dereliction of duty'". Fox News. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  20. ^ Henry J. Gomez, [New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu says he will not run for Senate, a blow to GOP hopes, NBC News (November 9, 2021).

External links

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