Maggie Hassan

Maggie Hassan

Maggie Hassan is the junior Senator from New Hampshire. She defeated her incumbent Republican predecessor Kelly Ayotte by 1,018 votes. Prior to her election to the Senate, Hassen served as Governor. She is the second woman in American history to be elected as both Governor and United States Senator, along with fellow New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

Senator Hassan was drawn to public service as an advocate fighting to ensure that children like her son Ben, who experiences severe disabilities, would be fully included in their communities and have the same opportunities that all parents want for their children.

In 1999, Governor Jeanne Shaheen asked her to serve on the Advisory Committee to the Adequacy in Education and Finance Commission. Her experience as a business attorney, along with her role as the parent of a child who experiences disabilities, enabled her to provide a unique perspective as the commission did its work.

Senator Hassan was first elected to the New Hampshire Senate in 2004, serving the people of the 23rd District. During her six years in the State Senate, she was selected by her colleagues to serve as both President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader.

In 2013, she became the 81st Governor of New Hampshire. Throughout her two terms as Governor, she responsibly balanced the state budget; created a business-friendly environment that saw New Hampshire’s unemployment rate drop to among the lowest in the nation; worked to implement a comprehensive, hands-on approach to the heroin, fentanyl and opioid crisis; and froze in-state tuition at state universities for the first time in 25 years while lowering tuition at community colleges.

Hassan earned her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from the Northeastern School of Law. She and her husband, Tom, who serves as the President of School Year Abroad, are the proud parents have two children