Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) has kept New Hampshire’s governorship in Republican hands, winning a second two-year term despite the political headwinds facing her party nationally.
Ayotte defeated Democratic challenger Cinde Warmington with 51.1% of the vote as of 12:42 a.m., when the Associated Press called her race Tuesday night. Warmington, a former member of the state’s Executive Council, received 47.3%.
Recommended Stories
The outcome was widely expected for Ayotte, who led in most of the polls leading up to Election Day and has carefully charted a center-right path in her first two years as governor. In that time, she’s clashed with conservatives in the GOP-controlled legislature, making extensive use of her veto pen to block transgender “bathroom bills” and legislation restricting “obscene” public school materials.
Ayotte has simultaneously expanded Republican priorities, such as New Hampshire’s voucher program for private schools, and made public safety a top focus. Her victory extends a streak of GOP control in New Hampshire at the state level.
New Hampshire is one of two states that elect governors to two-year terms, the other being Vermont. Before Ayotte was elected in 2024, Republican Chris Sununu served four terms as governor.
Republicans have had trouble winning federal office consistently in New Hampshire, a quintessentially purple state, and were dealing this cycle with fallout from the war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s low approval ratings.
Ayotte was sharing the ticket with Senate nominee John Sununu and Republicans in two House races, one of which was moderately competitive.
Warmington, her Democratic challenger, struggled to gain traction in the governor’s race, with Ayotte holding a relatively comfortable lead in all but one poll.
JOSH SHAPIRO HOPES HIS PENNSYLVANIA COATTAILS CAN FLIP THE HOUSE FOR DEMOCRATS
Warmington also faced repeated scrutiny over her time as a lobbyist and lawyer for the pharmaceutical industry and was relentlessly tied to the opioid epidemic by Ayotte, who cited Warmington’s work for Purdue Pharma and a chain of pain clinics.
Before she became governor, Ayotte was a U.S. senator and attorney general for New Hampshire.