Incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte nabbed a major endorsement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during a tour of a local manufacturing plant in her home state of New Hampshire on Tuesday.
“America cannot afford failed Governor Maggie Hassan in the United States Senate,” the Chamber’s national political director, Rob Engstrom, said of Ayotte’s Democratic challenger in a statement released by the New Hampshire senator’s re-election campaign.
“Kelly Ayotte represents the very best of the American free-enterprise system, standing up for businesses on Main Street. She’s been characterized as tough, independent, a principled fighter on behalf of the great state of New Hampshire,” he added.
Ayotte is fighting the race of her life against Hassan, a top Clinton supporter and the Granite State’s two-term governor, to return to the Senate in January 2017. A WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll released just before Labor Day weekend showed Hassan carrying a 2-point lead — 44 to 42 percent — in the crucial battleground state.
“I’m grateful to have this support from the Chamber, which is a strong advocate for workers and businesses throughout New Hampshire and our nation,” Ayotte said Tuesday. “Coming from a small business family, I’ve worked to make sure that policies coming out of Washington drive economic growth and innovation — not hinder it.”
“I’ll continue my efforts to reduce burdensome regulations and lower taxes, reduce health care costs, and foster more opportunities for good-paying jobs in New Hampshire,” she added.
Last week, the Chamber endorsed another Republican Congressman Todd Young in his own race for U.S. Senate seat against former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh in Indiana.
