Ayotte Defeats Warmington in New Hampshire
The incumbent governor retains office in a state where Democrats have won every presidential race since 2004.
By Mateo Thompson ·
Kelly Ayotte won re-election as governor of New Hampshire on Tuesday.
NBC News projects that Ayotte defeated Democratic challenger Cinde Warmington. This victory marks the fifth consecutive win for a Republican in the state's gubernatorial race since 2016. The result stands in contrast to the state's voting history in presidential elections, where Democrats have carried New Hampshire in every contest since 2004.
Ayotte previously served as a U.S. senator and the state's attorney general. Her campaign focused on speeding up housing construction, lowering electric bills, and reforming the bail system. She used neighboring Massachusetts as a comparison point, adopting the slogan "Don't Mass Up New Hampshire" to highlight policy differences.
The race featured a disconnect between state and national trends. Ayotte outperformed President Donald Trump in the 2024 general election. She won her race by nine points, while Trump lost the state by three points. Ayotte has had a shifting relationship with the president, initially supporting him in 2016, withdrawing her backing after the Access Hollywood tape emerged, and endorsing him again in 2024.
Warmington, a former state Executive Council member, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She previously sought the governor's office in 2024 but lost in the primary. Her campaign emphasized affordability, with her website stating that prices for groceries, housing, electricity, and property taxes are crushing families. She proposed a temporary moratorium on large-scale data center permits and the legalization of recreational cannabis.
The campaigns traded attacks on specific issues. Ayotte's team labeled Warmington an "opioid lobbyist" due to her past work representing Purdue Pharma. Warmington responded in an ad that her opponent was criticizing work she did "decades ago and regret[s]." She added that if she had known about the company's later revealed fraud in 2001, she "would never, ever have done this work."
Warmington also sought to link Ayotte to the Trump administration, referring to a "Trump-Ayotte economy" during the campaign. She stated she would take the president to court "when necessary" if elected. The candidate also proposed suspending the gas tax, citing rising fuel costs associated with the war in Iran.
