Former Senator Kelly Ayotte is hoping to secure the endorsements of former President Donald Trump and Governor Chris Sununu as she runs for governor in New Hampshire's competitive Republican primary.
* Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who's running for governor in New Hampshire's competitive race, tells Fox News Digital she'd welcome the endorsements of former President Trump and Gov. Chris Sununu.
*Ayotte, a former state attorney general, narrowly lost her Senate re-election in 2016 after breaking with Trump after the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" video.*
Ayotte Seeks Endorsements from Trump, Sununu in Competitive NH Gov Race
*But Ayotte endorsed Trump this year as he runs to win back his old job in the White House.*
*Ayotte, who received Sununu's endorsement this summer, told Fox News earlier this year that "the path that Gov. Sununu has us on is one of prosperity, one of more freedom. … I want us to continue down that path. I appreciate his leadership and the work that he’s done, and I want to continue his success for this state."*
Ayotte Seeks Endorsements from Trump, Sununu in Competitive NH Gov Race
*Her opponent, former state Senate President Chuck Morse, has spotlighted his conservative credentials and his support for Trump. But the former president stayed neutral in the race.*
*Ayotte, pushing back on Morse's attacks, has pointed to Morse's unsuccessful bid in 2022 for the GOP Senate nomination, and she added that "I’ve known Chuck a long time, and this is a sad way for him to end his political career."*
Ayotte Seeks Endorsements from Trump, Sununu in Competitive NH Gov Race
*The winner of the Republican nomination will face off in an eight-week sprint to the general election against either former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig or Cinde Warmington, the only Democrat on New Hampshire's Executive Council, which is an elected five-member panel that approves state agency heads, judges and major state contracts.*
*Similar to the Republican gubernatorial primary, the Democrat's nomination battle has also turned into a war of words.*
Ayotte Seeks Endorsements from Trump, Sununu in Competitive NH Gov Race
*In a state hard hit by the opioid crisis, Craig recently released an ad criticizing Warmington's past work as a lobbyist for drugmaking giant Purdue Pharma, known for producing the controversial painkiller OxyContin.*
*Warmington fired back with an ad of her own as she charged that Craig went on the attack to deflect from her record of steering New Hampshire's largest city through crime and homelessness crises.*
Ayotte Seeks Endorsements from Trump, Sununu in Competitive NH Gov Race
*Also grabbing the spotlight in New Hampshire is the race to succeed retiring six-term Democrat Rep. Annie Kuster in the 2nd Congressional District, which covers the western half and northern region of the state.*
*Kuster is backing Colin Van Ostern, a former staffer and former executive councilor who narrowly lost the 2016 gubernatorial election to Sununu.*
Ayotte Seeks Endorsements from Trump, Sununu in Competitive NH Gov Race
*But Sen. Maggie Hassan, a former governor, and former four-term Gov. John Lynch are supporting Van Ostern's rival, Maggie Goodlander, a former top lawyer in President Biden’s administration who served as a deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department and who is married to Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.*
*The Democrat congressional primary turned nasty with carpetbagger allegations directed at Goodlander, who hadn't lived in the district for years and, through her husband, also has connections to top Democrats, including former President Clinton and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.*
Ayotte Seeks Endorsements from Trump, Sununu in Competitive NH Gov Race
