Margaret Wood Hassan ( ; ; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator for New Hampshire since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Hassan was the 81st governor of New Hampshire, from 2013 to 2017.
Born in Boston, Hassan graduated from Brown University and earned a J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law. After graduating from law school in 1985, she worked at the law firm Palmer & Dodge. She later worked as associate general counsel for Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Hassan first ran for the New Hampshire Senate in 2002, losing to incumbent Russell Prescott. She ran again in 2004 and won. She served in the New Hampshire Senate from 2005 to 2010. She became the state senate majority leader in 2008 before losing reelection in a 2010 rematch with Prescott.
Hassan ran for governor in 2012, defeating former state senator Jacalyn Cilley in the Democratic primary and Republican nominee Ovide M. Lamontagne in the general election. She was reelected in 2014. After becoming governor, Hassan was elected vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association and served as a superdelegate at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
In 2016, Hassan ran for the U.S. Senate and narrowly defeated Kelly Ayotte, the Republican incumbent, by about 1,000 votes, or 0.1%. She was reelected in 2022. She serves with Jeanne Shaheen, another former governor. Hassan, Shaheen, and Ayotte are the only women in U.S. history to be elected both governor and U.S. senator. Hassan is expected to become New Hampshire's senior senator and the dean of the state's congressional delegation upon Shaheen's retirement in 2027.
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.