Gov. Chris Sununu and GOP gubernatorial candidate Kelly Ayotte teamed up for a “Super 603 Day” road trip across the Granite State on Thursday, one day after Sununu’s first ad on behalf of Ayotte in the general election dropped.
The timing could be fortuitous. A new UMass-Lowell/YouGov poll released earlier in the day found Ayotte clinging to a one-point lead over Democrat Joyce Craig (42-41 percent) with 14 percent of respondents undecided.
Sununu told reporters outside the Common Man Roadside South at the Hooksett Welcome Center that, other than abortion, the only card Democrats are playing in their campaign for governor is reviving an income tax on interest and dividends slated to phase out in 2025.
“To say that anybody wants a tax back, to have the Democrat leadership say that it’s a tax that people are happy to pay, that defines exactly why Joyce Craig and the Democrats cannot be trusted in something like the Corner Office,” Sununu said.
Craig, the former mayor of Manchester and current Democratic candidate for governor, has insisted that the impending elimination of New Hampshire’s tax on interest and dividends equates to “a tax cut for millionaires.”
In 2021, Republicans passed legislation, over Democratic opposition, that phased out what once had been a 5 percent income tax on interest and dividend earnings.
“The idea that the Democrats are happily talking about bringing back an interest and dividends tax should scare everyone on a fixed income, everyone that is retired or considering retiring, everyone who lives off interest in dividends, which is a lot of retirees,” Sununu added. “And let’s remember, we have one of the oldest populations in the country, we have a lot of people that rely on that income.
“It’s not just the rich at all, by any means.”
On Thursday morning, Lucas Meyer, a Craig campaign surrogate and co-founder of the progressive 603 Forward organization, doubled down in a radio interview on a claim he made earlier this month that Granite Staters “want to pay” the 5 percent I&D tax.
“I think it’s an incredibly popular proposal,” Meyer told Good Morning NH host Jack Heath. “Most people think the ultra rich aren’t paying their fair share.”
Craig has declined to respond to multiple requests for comment about her tax policy.
Under the state’s current I&D tax, all New Hampshire residents who earn $2,400 annually in interest and dividend income are required to pay.
“Joyce Craig wants to bring back that tax, and the legislature and the governor already made a decision to phase that tax out,” Ayotte said. “So especially as we think about really protecting the New Hampshire Advantage and who we are, lower taxes, again, personal freedom, economic freedom, and that’s what the state is all about.”
Meanwhile, Craig’s push to revive the I&D tax has given Ayotte a window to continue airing one of her campaign’s favorite themes: keeping New Hampshire from becoming Massachusetts.
“They (Democrats) want the Massachusetts model, which is why my opponent spends so much time campaigning with the governor of Massachusetts,” Ayotte said. “I think there’s a big contrast in the models that we believe are right for the state of New Hampshire.
“I want to keep us on this new path.”
Asked by NHJournal about Meyer’s claim that Granite State taxpayers “want to pay” a new interest and dividends tax, Sununu shot back — “Do you?”
Sununu also took a jab at Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s fixture as a presence in Craig’s campaign.
“We were walking up the street at the Apple Fest in Dover, and Kelly and I were walking, talking to New Hampshire people, and I turned, and there’s Joyce and the governor of Massachusetts,” Sununu said. “That’s it. That says everything you need to know [about this campaign]. If you want to be like Massachusetts, Joyce Craig is embracing that.
“If you want to appreciate New Hampshire’s individual liberties and freedoms and how we stand out from the crowd in a really positive way, that’s what Kelly’s bringing to the table.”
A new UMass Lowell/YouGov poll that dropped Thursday asked Granite Staters how much risk they believe New Hampshire is of becoming too much like Massachusetts in the next 10 years. A solid majority of Republicans (55 percent) said “at great risk,” while 47 percent of Democrats said “not at risk at all.” Unaffiliated voters were evenly divided.
Asked about abortion at the Common Man stop, Ayotte repeated that she supports the current law allowing abortion through 24 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions like fetal anomalies or the life of the mother, after that.
“I’m not going to change it,” Ayotte added. “I’ve said it to all of you, if they send me something more restrictive, if I have a Republican legislature that sends me something more restrictive, I will veto it. And I’ve said that even when I was in a Republican primary. I said that, I mean it.”
Sununu cited a United Health Foundation report ranking New Hampshire number one in the nation when it comes to the health of women and children.
“We’re number one out of all 50 states in the country when it comes to women and children’s health, and that’s a brand new ranking,” he said. “We’re doing it right.
“The Democrats are not talking about what Joyce Craig is going to do. They just attack Kelly. Every ad has an attack on Kelly on one issue that we are handling really well in the state.”
