New Hampshire Republican primary voters won’t pick their gubernatorial nominee for another six weeks, but the national Democratic Governors Association has already declared a winner.
On Tuesday, it launched a six-figure TV ad buy targeting former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte on the issue of abortion, a sign it’s confident she will be the GOP nominee.
Hitting Ayotte for allegedly supporting a national abortion ban and for supporting Donald Trump, the ad concludes, “Kelly Ayotte has shown us exactly who she is, and that’s why she can’t be our governor.”
The ad is paid for by Put New Hampshire First, which since 2020 has been entirely funded by donations from the DGA.
According to public documents, Democrats are spending $175,000 to broadcast the ad on WMUR.
While the buy is hardly overwhelming — and Ayotte is already being targeted in ads from both Democrat Joyce Craig and Republican Chuck Morse — political observers say the big takeaway is the DGA is so confident of an Ayotte primary victory that it’s not waiting to start spending its money.
“National Democrats have come to the same conclusion that Republicans in the Granite State made long ago: Kelly Ayotte is going to be our Republican nominee and the next governor of New Hampshire,” said Ayotte campaign spokesman John Corbett.
While polling in the New Hampshire governor’s race has been sparse, the few polls that have been done show Ayotte with a solid lead over former state Senate president Morse. And she has also reported raising more than 4 million dollars, giving her a big lead in finances as well.
The Morse campaign says the Democrats’ efforts are “comical.”
“When Republicans know who she is, they won’t be voting for her either. It’s comical to see the DGA attacking a candidate who aligns so closely with their own ideals. Ayotte voted with Obama over 260 times, publicly attacked Donald Trump, and supported amnesty for over 11 million illegal immigrants. By the end of her term, she had one of the most liberal voting records among GOP members,” said Morse campaign manager Maya Harvey.
With the national Democratic governors group getting involved, the Republican Governors Association might choose to respond in kind. But which Democratic gubernatorial candidate would it target? The only consistent takeaway of the polls up to this point is that voters don’t know very much about either former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig or Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington.
Not that the RGA isn’t in the game. On Tuesday they launched “two new websites that highlight the truth about the failed records of New Hampshire’s Democrat gubernatorial candidates, Joyce Craig and Cinde Warmington,” according to a press release.
“When New Hampshire voters head to VisitCraigville.com and CindesSecrets.com they’ll get the real truth about Joyce Craig and Cinde Warmington and see that mismanagement of epic proportions, tax hikes, sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants, and defending opioid manufacturers were all in a day’s work for these two gubernatorial candidates in their past careers.”
It’s also telling, GOP sources say, that Democrats aren’t willing to spend money promoting Morse’s primary campaign in hopes of knocking Ayotte out of the general election race. Promoting Trump-friendly candidates in GOP primaries to set up more favorable general election match ups is a strategy Democrats used effectively in 2022, including in New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District. Illegal Democrat-funded ads boosted the candidacy of MAGA Republican Bob Burns over a more moderate Republican, Keene Mayor George Hansel.
Burns went on to lose to incumbent U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster by 11 points. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella took no action against the Democrats responsible for the illegal campaign expenditures.
“The DGA’s flailing attempt to marginalize Kelly Ayotte is proof positive that she is the best hope for Republicans to win the Corner Office,” said Craig Stevens, a Bedford Republican who has worked on two presidential campaigns. “Six weeks out from the primary and they’re completely ignoring every other Republican in the race – unable to even follow their 2022 playbook to boost a weaker candidate to make the race more competitive.
“Doesn’t matter, it’s squandered money anyway – Kelly Ayotte has the experience and vision New Hampshire voters want.”
