Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joyce Craig lashed out at Republican opponent Kelly Ayotte over a new TV ad targeting her record as Manchester mayor. Craig claims it’s just an attempt by Ayotte “to distract from her horrendous record attacking reproductive freedom and access to abortion.”
Political professionals say the exchange of political fire is yet another sign the governor’s race is evolving into an Ayotte vs. Craig contest, despite both candidates still facing primary challenges.
Ayotte’s ad, which began airing Tuesday morning, is titled “Craigville.” It describes homelessness, crime and drug abuse in the Queen City on Craig’s watch. The term “Craigville” came from members of Manchester’s homeless community who gave the name to the cluster of tents on Merrimack Street during her tenure as mayor.
The Craig campaign, which has a well-earned reputation for largely ignoring the press, took the unusual step of releasing a lengthy, bullet-point-filled rebuttal to the Ayotte attack. It claimed violent crime declined while Craig was mayor and it touted her work “to increase housing development in Manchester, where 2,000 housing units are or will be in development in the city.”
“The fact that Kelly Ayotte has resorted to distorting Joyce’s record and misleading voters to distract from her horrendous record attacking reproductive freedom and access to abortion shows just how scared she is to run against Joyce Craig in November,” Craig’s campaign manager Craig Brown said in a statement.
“While Kelly continues to rake in millions from America’s largest corporate landlord, Joyce Craig has been taking on the tough fights for Manchester and all New Hampshire families.”
Republican campaign veteran Craig Stevens says the Craig campaign’s decision to respond in that manner is telling.
“It means Kelly’s ad is either completely fabricated or completely true,” Stevens said. “And everyone knows it’s true.”
Democrats have made no secret of the fact they believe Ayotte is the likely GOP nominee, as opposed to former state Senate President Chuck Morse. Craig has been attacking Ayotte for weeks, and now the Democratic Governors Association has joined in, too. Stevens and other GOP sources tell NHJournal Ayotte simply can’t afford to wait to respond until after the Sept. 10 primary.
And, says UNH Political Science Professor Dante Scala, nobody should be surprised her response is focused on Manchester.
“It’s been clear to the Craig campaign — and anyone else who’s paying attention — for a long time what the main lines of attack would be in this race. If Craig’s the nominee, her stewardship of the state’s largest city will be on the ballot,” Scala said.
“In addition, Craig will trail her likely opponent [Ayotte] in name ID, so her campaign will have to be especially aggressive to avoid being defined negatively to the New Hampshire electorate. She will only have two months if she’s the nominee.”
The latest poll from the St. Anselm College Survey Center found Ayotte with a 59-25 percent lead over Morse, while Craig was in a closer race (38-29 percent) with Warmington. Nearly a third (31 percent) were still undecided, compared to just 14 percent of unsure voters in the GOP gubernatorial primary.
“Ayotte has the luxury of formidable resources, and a weak primary opponent. She can afford to look ahead just a bit, and start the general election campaign,” Scala said. “And who knows? Perhaps she and Cinde Warmington can tag-team Craig for the next few weeks and provide Warmington a chance for an upset.”
Former New Hampshire state party chair Kathy Sullivan is also trying to turn the governor’s contest into a two-woman race.
“Why is Kelly Ayotte running ads attacking Joyce Craig? She’s trying to pick her opponent. Her internal polls are telling her Joyce is the one Democrat who can beat her.”
Warmington and Morse are not going away, however. Morse has been on TV for months, and Morse is expected to hit the airwaves with an ad targeting Ayotte as soon as Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Craig continues pushing back against Ayotte’s ad, retweeting the message that “We don’t need a Trump governor!”
Craig also attacked Ayotte for serving on corporate boards like Blackstone, which owns hundreds of thousands of rental properties, claiming she’s making “millions of dollars at the expense of hard-working Americans.”
The campaign also bragged that “Under Joyce’s leadership, BAE Systems announced its expansion into Manchester, bringing nearly 1,000 new jobs.”
Who served as chairman of the BAE Systems Board of Directors until mid-June?
Kelly Ayotte.
“Politicians typically run on their record, but Joyce Craig has no choice but to run away from hers,” Stevens said. “Nobody wants to see the Joyce record of Craigvilles across the state, and this ad serves as a stark reminder that with Joyce Craig in the corner office, that’s exactly what could happen.”
