Maggie Hassan

Maggie Hassan
Official portrait, 2016
Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee
Assumed office
January 3, 2025
Preceded byDavid Schweikert
United States Senator
from New Hampshire
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Serving with Jeanne Shaheen
Preceded byKelly Ayotte
81st Governor of New Hampshire
In office
January 3, 2013 – January 2, 2017
Preceded byJohn Lynch
Succeeded byChuck Morse (acting)
Majority Leader of the New Hampshire Senate
In office
January 3, 2008 – December 1, 2010
Preceded byJoseph Foster
Succeeded byJeb Bradley
Member of the New Hampshire Senate
from the 23rd district
In office
December 1, 2004 – December 1, 2010
Preceded byRussell Prescott
Succeeded byRussell Prescott
Personal details
Born
Margaret Coldwell Wood

(1958-02-27) February 27, 1958
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Thomas Hassan
(m. 1983)
Children2
Relatives
  • Robert Coldwell Wood (father)
  • Frank Wood (brother)
Education
Signature
WebsiteSenate website
Campaign website

Margaret Wood Hassan[1][2] (/ˈhæsən/ HASS-ən; née Margaret Coldwell Wood; born February 27, 1958)[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

Hassan first ran for the New Hampshire Senate in 2002, losing to incumbent Russell Prescott. She ran again in 2004 and won.[6][7] 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.[8]

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.[7]

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%.[9][10] 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.[11] 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.

  1. ^ "Senator Margaret Wood Hassan". congress.gov. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  2. ^ "HASSAN, Margaret Wood (Maggie), 1958 –". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  3. ^ "About Senator Hassan". hassan.senate.gov. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  4. ^ "Updated: NH Democrats to vote on superdelegate reform resolution at convention". WMUR. June 16, 2016.
  5. ^ "Maggie Hassan, School of Law graduate, elected US senator". news.northeastern.edu. 14 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference atlantic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Raju, Manu (July 7, 2015). "Harry Reid's final campaign". Politico. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  8. ^ McCord, Michael (September 17, 2007). "Exeter Sen. Hassan Backs Hillary Clinton". The Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Dowling, Brian; Villani, Chris (November 9, 2016). "Hassan narrowly beats Ayotte in Senate race". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  10. ^ Connolly, Amy R.; Feller, Stephen (November 10, 2016). "Maggie Hassan narrowly defeats Kelly Ayotte for New Hampshire Senate seat". UPI. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  11. ^ "About Maggie". Maggie Hassan for Senate. Retrieved 2019-11-21.