By HOLLY RAMER and KATHY McCORMACK (Associated Press)
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte introduced her candidacy for governor of New Hampshire on Monday, days after fellow Republican Chris Sununu declined to hunt a fifth time period.
“Gov. Sununu did a great job, but there’s going to be a vacuum there,” Ayotte mentioned on “Fox & Friends.”
Ayotte, who grew to become New Hampshire’s first feminine legal professional common in 2004, could be the state’s third feminine elected governor, following Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.
Ayotte was elected to the Senate in 2010 however misplaced six years later to Hassan by simply over 1,000 votes in one of many nation’s most intently watched contests. Since leaving Washington, she has served on a number of company and nonprofit boards. Ayotte mentioned Monday she is returning to politics “to make sure that New Hampshire remains safe, prosperous and free.”
“We are one election away from becoming Massachusetts in New Hampshire, and I’m not going to let that happen,” she mentioned. “We have something very special in New Hampshire — no income (tax), no sales tax, education freedom is so important in our state.”
Ayotte is the second Republican candidate to announce. Chuck Morse, former Republican president of the New Hampshire Senate and a former U.S. Senate candidate, introduced his marketing campaign for governor shortly after Sununu introduced his determination in an e-mail to supporters on Wednesday.
Two Democrats have already introduced their campaigns, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington. Both ladies have emphasised defending abortion rights, and the problem seemingly will play a significant position within the common election marketing campaign no matter who wins the nominations.
Ayotte informed WMUR-TV Monday she shouldn’t be trying to change the present ban on abortion after 24 weeks of being pregnant that Sununu signed into state regulation in 2021. But a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association criticized Ayotte for calling for a nationwide ban on abortion after 20 weeks of preganancy in 2014, for supporting the overturning of Roe v. Wade and opposing federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
“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,” the affiliation’s deputy communications director Izzi Levy mentioned in a press release.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat who has endorsed Craig’s marketing campaign, dismissed Ayotte’s criticism of her state Monday.
“I’ll let the Republican primary opponents duke it out,” she mentioned. “The Republican primary doesn’t interest me. I’m focused on what’s happening here in Massachusetts — getting a budget, getting a tax package that makes sense and working to make life better for residents in our state.”
The New Hampshire race for governor is taking form in tandem with the 2024 presidential contest, with Republican candidates making frequent journeys to the early main state. Asked Monday which Republican will prevail within the main, Ayotte mentioned, “I look forward to supporting our Republican nominee.” She didn’t point out the present frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, with whom she has a tortuous historical past.
During her 2016 Senate marketing campaign, Ayotte spent months supporting Trump with out endorsing him. She referred to as him a job mannequin for kids throughout one debate however took it again the subsequent day. And when outdated recordings of Trump bragging about forcing himself on ladies surfaced, she rescinded her assist altogether — and mentioned she’d write in Mike Pence for president as a substitute.
But after she misplaced and Trump gained, his administration tapped her to assist Neil Gorsuch navigate his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. And a distinguished member of Trump’s inside circle in New Hampshire, Bruce Breton, is backing her gubernatorial marketing campaign.
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Associated Press Writer Steve LeBlanc in Boston contributed to this report.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”