More than 50 New Hampshire Democrats crossed party lines to announce their support for incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte on Tuesday, giving her one final opportunity to flaunt her bipartisan appeal before Election Day.
“Some things have to transcend politics, and this year especially, I think all voters have to look beyond party labels at a person’s real record and beliefs,” Lou Prince, a Democrat and the oldest World War II veteran in the Granite State, said in a statement released by Ayotte’s campaign.
Prince cited Ayotte’s work in the Senate to improve veterans’ access to medical care and her commitment to solving New Hampshire’s opioid crisis as primary reasons he’s backing her.
“We are in the midst of one of the most partisan election cycles of my lifetime, which is why I am casting my vote for candidates who I believe will cut through the politics and work with anyone to achieve results,” said Tom Thibeault, a Democratic candidate for the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
“I will be voting for Kelly Ayotte for U.S. senator because she has really gone above and beyond to work across the aisle on behalf of New Hampshire,” Thibeault noted.
Though Ayotte’s bipartisan record carries weight with New Hampshire independents, she has often been described as insufficiently conservative by GOP critics. The free market group Club for Growth cut her rating from 98 percent, when she entered the Senate in 2011, to 54 percent in 2015.
Ayotte, however, has proudly embraced Democrats who have chosen to support her because of they see her as more moderate than many of her Republican colleagues.
“I’m humbled by the support I’ve received from people all across the political spectrum, and I look forward to continuing to work with anyone — regardless of political party — to get things done for our state,” she said Tuesday.
Ayotte leads Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan by less than 2 percentage points in the final week before the Nov. 8 election, according to the latest RealClearPolitics state-level average.
