Independent New Hampshire Senate candidate Aaron Day is giving President Donald Trump an ultimatum: meet demands on cryptocurrency, the draft, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, or Day will move forward with a third-party campaign he predicts will cost Republican John Sununu the Senate race.
Day told the Washington Examiner on Monday that he has collected nearly 5,000 petitions and believes he has more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, bringing him closer to following through on a spoiler campaign he first threatened earlier this year.
But Day said he is willing to walk away if the Trump administration makes significant progress on four demands over the coming days: “free the crypto prisoners,” stop the CLARITY Act, fire Lutnick, and “end the draft.”
“There’s essentially 10 days for the administration to do what they said they were going to do,” Day said. “If the administration makes major steps towards honoring their own commitments in these areas, then I will take myself off of the process.”
The ultimatum expands on Day’s warning to the Washington Examiner in February that it would take a “miracle” or a dramatic reversal of Trump’s cryptocurrency policies to keep him from mounting an independent campaign. At the time, Day put the chances of running at 99% and accused Trump and congressional Republicans of accelerating what he calls a “war on crypto.”
Day now argues the administration has broken promises beyond cryptocurrency, pointing to Trump’s pledges to avoid new wars and “drain the swamp.” He singled out Lutnick for criticism and argued the CLARITY Act would expand government surveillance rather than protect cryptocurrency users.
“All I’m doing is asking them to do what they said they were going to do,” Day said. “If they don’t honor their commitments, they don’t deserve to be in power.”
Day still faces hurdles before he can appear on the ballot. He sued New Hampshire after the state refused to accept his declaration of candidacy over a residency and voter registration dispute. A federal magistrate judge has recommended ruling in Day’s favor, but the district judge has yet to issue a final decision. The state has objected to the recommendation, and Day has filed a response.
Day estimated there is a 95% chance he will ultimately make the ballot if he chooses to submit his petitions. He said the matter must be resolved by Sept. 2.
His threat carries particular weight because of what happened a decade ago. Day received nearly 18,000 votes as an independent Senate candidate in 2016, when now-Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) lost to Democrat Maggie Hassan by roughly 1,000 votes.
Day believes he could play the same role this November if Sununu wins the Republican nomination.
“If I’m on the ballot, Sununu loses,” Day said. “He might lose anyway.”
Day denied that defeating Sununu is his ultimate objective, instead describing his campaign as an experiment in using third-party candidates to force the major parties to keep their promises.
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“My goal overall is to use strategically the use of a third-party race to hold one of the two parties accountable,” Day said, adding that he could employ the strategy in future elections himself or recruit other candidates to do so.
Sununu, who has Trump’s endorsement, is competing against former Sen. Scott Brown for the Republican nomination, while Rep. Chris Pappas is the Democratic front-runner for the open seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).