Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan has defeated Republican Don Bolduc in a closely watched race that was key to Republicans hopes of winning control of the Senate..

Hassan had been considered vulnerable since her narrow 2016 win, but her odds improved after popular Gov. Chris Sununu took a pass at challenging her. Republicans nominated Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general who has espoused conspiracy theories about vaccines and the 2020 presidential election.

Get Complete New Hampshire Election Results

Hassan highlighted her work on the bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed last year and the $280 billion package aimed at creating more high-tech jobs by boosting the semiconductor industry and scientific research. And she cast her opponent as an extremist, pouncing on his past statements on abortion, Social Security and the 2020 presidential election.

Sununu — who Bolduc dubbed a “Chinese communist sympathizer” — dismissed Bolduc before the primary, but later said he would back the entire Republican ticket in the general election.

Bolduc initially promoted Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election but after winning the Republican primary said it wasn’t stolen and then, more recently, said that he wasn’t sure. Trump endorsed him last week, calling him a “strong and proud ‘Election Denier’.”

Nearly two years after Trump’s defeat, there has been no evidence of widespread fraud.

Hassan defeated Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte in 2016 to become the second woman in American history to be elected both governor and U.S. senator, following fellow New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.