Ayotte announces gubernatorial campaign

NASHUA, NH – On Monday, former New Hampshire Attorney General and U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte announced her candidacy for Governor of New Hampshire.

Ayotte released the following statement.

I want to thank Governor Sununu and Valerie for their dedicated service to New Hampshire over the past seven years. Governor Sununu is an excellent leader who has worked hard to defend our Live Free or Die values and improve New Hampshire’s quality of life.

The battle to protect our Live Free or Die way of life must continue.

I’m running for Governor because New Hampshire is one election away from becoming Massachusetts – from becoming something we are not. I was born here and raised here. I raised my kids here, and you know what? I am going to die here because this state and it’s people are different. What we have here is worth fighting for.

Together, we will ensure that New Hampshire remains safe, prosperous, and free.

We will keep New Hampshire safe by standing up for our law enforcement officers, ending the revolving door of criminals returning to our streets, and by putting fentanyl dealers and violent criminals in jail. I did this work as Attorney General, and I look forward to partnering with law enforcement again.

We will protect and strengthen New Hampshire’s economic advantage by ensuring the Democrats never implement an income or sales tax, and by reducing energy costs and regulatory burdens on individuals and businesses.

I will stand with parents, not bureaucrats, when it comes to deciding what is best for our children. I will fight for universal education freedom because every child should have the same learning opportunities and chance at success, and we will work to recruit more great teachers to our state.

There is so much more work to be done and I will work tirelessly for and with the people of New

Hampshire to keep our state safe, prosperous, and free

She also listed the following endorsements.

Fmr. Governor Craig Benson

Rye

Fmr U.S. Senator and Ambassador Scott Brown

Rye

Executive Councilor Ted Gatsas

Manchester

Mayor George Hansel

Keene

House Majority Leader Jason Osborne

Auburn

Coos County Sheriff Brian Valerino

Berlin

Belknap County Sheriff Bill Wright

Belmont

Hills. County Commissioner Toni Pappas

Manchester

Hills. County Commissioner Robert Rowe

Amherst

State Senator Bill Gannon

Sandown

Gail Huff Brown

Rye

City Councilor Peter Morency

Berlin

Augusta Petrone

Dublin

Jay Lucas

Portsmouth

Mary Ann Gargiulo

Hampton Falls

State Rep. Mike Bordes

Laconia

State Rep. Ross Berry

Manchester

State Rep. Tom Dolan

Londonderry

State Rep. Margaret Drye

Plainfield

State Rep. Larry Gagne

Manchester

State Rep. Phyllis Katsakiores

Derry

State Rep. Dave Lundgren Londonderry

State Rep. Bob Lynn

Windham

State Rep. Mike Moffett

Loudon

Fmr. Grafton County Sheriff Doug Dutile

Haverhill

Fmr. State Rep. Dave Currier

Henniker

Fmr. State Rep. Kim Rice

Hudson

Fmr. State Rep. Cody Belanger

Epping

Fmr. State Rep. Brad Bailey

Monroe

Fmr. State Rep. Mike McCarthy

Nashua

Fmr. State Senator John Gallus

Berlin

Dick Anagnost

Bedford

Beverly Bruce

Dover

Andy Crews

Bedford

Michael Kane

Portsmouth

Matt Connors

Bedford

Anthony DiLorenzo

Portsmouth

Jeremy Hitchcock

Manchester

Eric Jostrom

Sugar Hill

Patrick Mills

Manchester

Raymond Pinard

Concord

Phil Taub

Bedford

Cindy Ahern

Plymouth

Lori Davis

Weare

Marilyn Huston

Keene

Jen Deml

Bedford

Donna Marzullo

Deering

Rick MacMillan

Dublin

Jason Pinault

Auburn

Tom Fleming

Goffstown

Retired Detective Bedford Police Sean Kilbreth

New Boston

Retired State Police Lt. Jerry Maslan

Charlestown

Retired Chief of Police Steve Pecora

Hopkinton

Captain Coos County Keith Roberge

Berlin

Retired Nashua Police Sergeant John Yurcak

Wilton

Retired Chief of Police Kyle Aspinwall

Mont Vernon

Retired Detective Bedford Police Matt Fleming

Dunbarton

Susan Callaghan

Rochester

Jonathan Nightingale

Manchester

Tom Puzzo

Derry

Jerry Sickles

Keene

Doug Thompson

Plaistow

Doug Griffin

Newton

Sean Knox

Concord

Brittany LeTourneau

Deerfield

David Mackey

New Boston

Doug Moorhead

Thornton

Jacqueline Pelletier

Hooksett

Gerry Reppucci

Nashua

Sheila Gagne

Manchester

Kristina Ickes

Candia

Peggy Gallus

Berlin

Ed Lecius

Merrimack

Chris Stawasz

Hollis

Roxanne Tufts-Keegan

Middleton

Fmr. Governor and U.S. Senator Judd Gregg

Rye

Fmr. NH First Lady Kathy Gregg

Rye

Tom Thomson, Owner of Thomson Family Tree Farm Orford

Mayor Paul Callaghan

Rochester

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chris Connelly

Mont Vernon

Sullivan County Sheriff John Simonds

Claremont

Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin

Amherst

Belknap County Commissioner Peter Spanos Laconia

Matt Mowers

Gilford

Honorable Kevin Smith

Londonderry

State Senator Carrie Gendreau

Littleton

Beth Varney

Alton

Town Selectman Bruce Breton

Windham

Town Councilor Barbara Healey

Merrimack

Karen Lucas

Portsmouth

Deputy House Majority Leader Fred Doucette Salem

State Rep. Bob Healey

Merrimack

State Rep. Katherine Prudhomme O’Brien

Derry

State Rep. Jess Edwards

Auburn

State Rep. Doug Thomas

Londonderry

State Rep. John Potucek

Derry

State Rep. Katelyn Kuttab

Windham

State Rep. Douglas Trottier

Belmont

State Rep. Jodi Nelson

Derry

State Rep. Peter Varney

Alton

Fmr. Grafton County Comm. Barbara Dutile

Haverhill

Fmr. State Rep. JP Marzullo

Deering

Fmr. State Rep. Vicki Schwaegler

Orford

Budget Committee Member Rob Varsalone

Chester

NH Fish and Game Commissioner Eric Stohl

Colebrook

Alex Choquette

Portsmouth

Tony Caparo III

Mont Vernon

Tracy Culberson

Pembroke

Neil Nicholson

Concord

Renee Plummer

Portsmouth

Daniel Plummer

Portsmouth

Henry Ahern

Plymouth

Kate Day

Chesterfield

Mike Castaldo

Dover

Frank Ferraro

North Hampton

Gail Ferraro

North Hampton

Linda Frawley

Belmont

Rita Mattson

Dublin

The announcement has received the following reactions. This list will be updated as new reactions become available.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley

Kelly Ayotte is an anti-abortion extremist who would bring the destructive DC Republican style of politics to Concord. Ayotte was a loyal acolyte to Mitch McConnell always putting his agenda ahead of what was best for Granite Staters. She filibustered common sense gun reform in the wake of Sandy Hook. She led an unprecedented obstruction of judicial nominees. She opposed same sex marriage at a time when New Hampshire led the the way toward the right side of history. When she lost her last election so many years ago after a single term in the senate, she abandoned the Granite State in favor of multiple high paying corporate boards, only to return once she filled her now flush bank account.

“We have no doubt she’ll use her fat cat corporate pals to try and buy this election, and every confidence she will fail spectacularly. Granite Staters are looking for fresh, forward thinking leadership, and have zero interest in electing an anti-abortion extremist like Kelly Ayotte.

Kayla Montgomery, Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund

Kelly Ayotte may try to paint herself as pro-woman, but her record tells a very different story. In her last campaign, Ayotte promised to overturn Roe v. Wade; now that the U.S. Supreme Court has decimated federal protections for abortion rights, her extreme anti-abortion agenda is even more dangerous.

As N.H. Attorney General, Ayotte fought for an unconstitutional abortion restriction at the U.S. Supreme Court. As U.S. Senator, Ayotte voted to defund Planned Parenthood every chance she’s had and in 2011 she voted to eliminate the entire Title X Family Planning Program. In 2016, then-Senator Ayotte refused to consider Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, paving the way for Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump to steal a Supreme Court seat – the appointment which led to the overturning of Roe.

Let’s be clear – Kelly Ayotte’s anti-abortion position is out of touch with the majority of New Hampshire voters who believe abortion should be safe, legal, and accessible. The future of abortion rights in our state depends on every election; Granite Staters can’t count on Kelly Ayotte to protect our reproductive rights.

Joyce Craig for New Hampshire Spokesperson Craig Brown

The field of extreme MAGA Republicans seeking to strip away Granite Staters’ rights is growing – and a messy primary that pits extreme Republicans against extreme Republicans lies ahead.

Kelly Ayotte lost her re-election campaign to the U.S. Senate because instead of representing Granite Staters, she represented her corporate donors in Washington D.C.

Ayotte has spent the last six years profiting off her votes to defund Planned Parenthood and strip reproductive rights by taking high-paying corporate lobbying jobs. Granite Staters deserve a Governor who will fight for them, not serve the MAGA extremists and reward corporate special interests.

DGA Deputy Communications Director Izzi Levy

Kelly Ayotte has spent her career working to stack the deck against New Hampshire’s working families and attacking their most fundamental freedoms — even leading the charge for a national abortion ban — which is why New Hampshire voters retired her seven years ago after a single term in the Senate. With her announcement today, Ayotte joins a field of losing candidates that is all but assured to grow louder, messier, and more extreme, before Granite Staters reject her once more for a candidate who will actually work to defend reproductive freedom and fix the problems they face.”

New Hampshire is the only state in New England without proactive protections for reproductive freedom on the books, and Kelly Ayotte brings to this race a long record of attacking abortion rights: in 2010, Ayotte called for Roe v. Wade to be overturned, and in 2014, she led a group of 33 Republican senators demanding a vote on a national abortion ban. Ayotte also called a regulation requiring most employers to cover costs of birth control “an unprecedented affront to religious liberty,” and has voted at least five times to defund Planned Parenthood.

Ayotte joins former state Senate President and failed 2024 U.S. Senate candidate Chuck Morse, the architect of New Hampshire’s abortion ban who voted against adding exemptions for rape, incest, and the life of the child to the bill. Like Ayotte, Morse has also voted to defund Planned Parenthood, voted to allow pharmacists to refuse to prescribe patients birth control because of their own beliefs, and voted against a law that would protect patients from harassment while seeking reproductive health care.

As New Hampshire’s field of out-of-touch GOP extremists grows, top analysts have already shifted their ratings for NH-GOV from “solid R” and “likely R” to “toss up,” while Inside Elections notes this is the “best gubernatorial pickup opportunity” for Democrats in the 2024 cycle.