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Just 24 hours after endorsing her in the Republican gubernatorial primary, Gov. Chris Sununu and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte sat down for an exclusive interview with NHJournal to talk about the state of the race for the Corner Office.

After running in the Delta Dental/Elliot Corporate 5k, the two grabbed burgers and fries at the Bonfire Restaurant and Country Bar in downtown Manchester to cap off a “Super 603 Day” of campaigning across the Granite State, and to answer questions about the campaign.

Gov. Chris Sununu and Kelly Ayotte talk to Jim Pliakos (center), owner of Bonfire Restaurant and Country Bar in downtown Manchester on August 8, 2024.

Though Sununu’s decision to endorse Ayotte wasn’t unexpected, it still adds yet another obstacle to former state Senate President Chuck Morse’s uphill primary campaign. Morse is trailing Ayotte in both fundraising and in the available public polls. Now the popular incumbent governor has given Ayotte another jolt of momentum.

Sununu acknowledged that he and Morse had legislative successes working together as governor and Senate president. So, why endorse Ayotte?

“I always say Kelly is the full package,” Sununu told NHJournal. “Talk about her experience as a former attorney general, former U.S. Senator, someone who understands how this state works, who can hit the ground running, [and she’s got] likeability.”

Ayotte said the Sununu endorsement shows she’s the candidate who will continue the successful policy legacy of the past eight years, as opposed to Democratic gubernatorial candidates, former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington.

“This is the problem [for the Democrats]. Our state is going in a very strong direction. We’ve been ranked top five on probably every important measure — most importantly for the taxpayers — and people are moving to New Hampshire because of that. And the Democrats are saying, ‘We need a change’?

“It goes back to what I said when I got in this campaign — we’re one election away from becoming Massachusetts, and that is the vision that [Craig and Warmington] have,” Ayotte said.

During the conversation, Sununu repeatedly emphasized the importance of Republicans giving themselves the best possible opportunity to hold onto the governor’s office this fall. With an unpopular Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, and former Vice President Kamala Harris energizing the Democratic base, November could be a tough environment for Republicans in a state where Democrats dominate federal elections. That’s why he is all in on Ayotte.

As for Morse, when NHJournal began a question with “Chuck Morse is a friend of yours,” Sununu shot back, “Those are your words.”

Asked about Morse’s angry comments targeting Sununu after the endorsement (“I’d take my track record of ideas, views, and accomplishments over Chris Sununu’s any day,” Morse said), Sununu shrugged.

“With all due respect, nobody cares. People are looking at who can win in November. They know that, now more than ever, if we don’t win in November, if we let Joyce Craig or Cinde Warmington walk into that Corner Office, can you imagine where we would be?”

While the two Republicans had plenty of mutual praise, NHJournal asked Ayotte what’s the one action Sununu took as governor that she won’t.

“Oooh, good question,” Sununu said. When Ayotte appeared reluctant to answer, Sununu prompted her, “C’mon, I even have answers for that.”

“Well,” Ayotte said, “let me just say that I probably would have taken a little different view on redistricting,”

(Sununu vetoed a redistricting plan that would have made the First Congressional District a likely GOP pick-up, a move that angered many Granite State Republicans.)

On the issue of energy, Ayotte pledged to continue the “all of the above” approach pursued by Sununu and which prioritizes ratepayers.

“It’s important that we have more energy supply in the state, and the priority has to be driving down costs,” Ayotte said. “Because the people who get hit the most [with higher costs] are the working people out there, who are working really hard to make ends meet. And with the impact of inflation on top of it, it’s very tough on them.”

Both Sununu and Ayotte mentioned the green energy plan rolled out by Craig earlier that day, and the Warmington proposal released earlier in the campaign. When NHJournal noted that Craig didn’t reveal the price tag of her proposal, Sununu mocked the former Manchester mayor for banning some news outlets from her events, allowing her to avoid questions like that.

(The Craig campaign would not allow NHJournal to cover Thursday’s press conference.)

“Joyce Craig asked a reporter from NHPR to leave one of her events,” Sununu said. “Can you imagine if, as governor, I had done that? That alone defines the leadership, accessibility and the transparency that you would get that type of administration.”

Ayotte added, “Joyce Craig is hiding in her basement like Joe Biden was hiding in his. That’s pretty much where we are.”

Which is why, Ayotte says, the Democrats are focused on attacking her rather than answering questions about their own policies.

“Who is the candidate that the National Democrats are already advertising on TV against? They know the score here, and they are trying to take me down now because they know I’m the biggest threat to their left-wing agenda for New Hampshire,” Ayotte said.

“That’s why they’re attacking me already. And I’m ready for this fight.”