MANCHESTER — More than 100 registered Republicans, including former colleagues in the state Senate and Executive Council, have endorsed Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s bid for a third term in the U.S. Senate.

Tom Boucher, owner of Great New Hampshire Restaurants, said Shaheen played a leadership role during the coronavirus pandemic, helping to negotiate small business relief incentives in the federal CARES Act that helped keep more than 200,000 employed in the state.

“I’m a Republican but I’m supporting Jeanne Shaheen because she was there for us,” Boucher said in recent a Shaheen campaign television ad.

Former state Sen. Rick Russman of Kingston, a self-described, “Rockefeller Republican” said he saw Shaheen’s skills firsthand when the pair served in the Senate together and then when she became a three-term governor.

“Jeanne Shaheen has done a fantastic job for our state,” Russman said in a campaign video for social media.

Former Portsmouth Mayor Peter Weeks said Shaheen stepped up to prevent the Trump administration from taking submarine renovation work from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

“In the Senate, she has been a leading voice on combating PFAS water contamination, an issue that affects so many families on the Seacoast, and created the first-ever national health impact study with a model test site in New Hampshire,” Weeks said.

“Senator Shaheen has consistently fought to make a difference for our communities on the Seacoast, and I am proud to have her representing New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate.”

Seeking common ground

Shaheen said she has tried to find common ground with Senate Republicans on issues ranging from environmental protection to national security.

“There’s too much division in Washington, and to get anything done for New Hampshire, we need to work across the aisle,” Shaheen said.

“Making a difference for New Hampshire families continues to be my number one priority, and I am grateful to have so many Granite State Republicans supporting my reelection campaign. Confronting the opioid crisis, protecting our national security, and supporting small businesses should be bipartisan priorities, and I will continue to work across the aisle to protect our nation and our state, no matter what.”

Michael Biundo, a campaign consultant with Republican Senate nominee Corky Messner of Wolfeboro, said Shaheen talks a lot about bipartisanship but she is a reliable liberal for higher taxes and more spending on Capitol Hill.

“Career politician Senator Jeanne Shaheen left a few items off her list of ‘accomplishments’ in announcing her latest endorsements: failing to pass COVID-19 relief, misrepresenting SCOTUS nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s record for political gain, endless kowtowing to the agenda set forth by Senator Chuck Schumer and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and falsely claiming her opponent will deprive Granite Staters of health care coverage, to name just a few,” Biundo said.

“As a political outsider, Corky Messner knows how to actually get things done and achieve real solutions for the people of the Granite State.”

Other Republicans backing Shaheen included former Executive Councilors Ruth Griffin of Portsmouth and Peter Spaulding of Hopkinton, former George H. Bush administration official Betty Tamposi of New Castle, Bedford businessman Bill Greiner, New Castle builder Hank Stebbins and former New Hampshire Housing Finance Agency Executive Director Claira Monier of Goffstown.

“I served on the Governor’s Executive Council for 20 years with six different governors, including six years with Senator Shaheen,” Griffin said.

“While we would disagree on things, Senator Shaheen earned my respect for working with Republicans and Democrats alike to get things done, and she was one of the hardest working people I know. She’s a principled leader who has always done right for the people of New Hampshire.”