Gov. Kelly Ayotte showed up at the 2025 annual New Hampshire Republican State Committee meeting in Meredith on Saturday with a laundry list of asks for Republican state legislators.
“I want you to send me the ban on sanctuary policies. I want you to send me tougher penalties for drug dealers. I want you to send me a parental bill of rights. I want to expand opportunities for every child in this state in education,” Ayotte told the enthusiastic crowd.
The enthusiasm, said newly-elected state party chair Jim MacEachern, stems from GOP victories in November, and Republicans’ belief their party can build on those wins in 2026.
“My motto for 2026 is ‘reverse the midterm curse,'” MacEachern told NHJournal. “Not just to hold but to grow. It’s usually tough to win (a midterm) as the party in power. But I believe people are looking at 2022 and today, and they understand that we have to be unified to win.”
Unity was the overriding message at the meeting. And veteran GOP activists said that, after years of internal debate over how to react to Donald Trump, this time the delegates may actually mean it.
With Trump’s surprisingly strong performance — the highest share of the popular vote for a non-incumbent Republican since George H.W. Bush in 1988 — and his clear command of the GOP, that debate has been settled, several NHGOP members told NHJournal. It’s Trump’s GOP.
So far, that’s playing out to the party’s benefit, particularly compared to the dismal performance of former President Joe Biden.
A new UNH Survey Center Granite State Poll confirms Trump’s standing among New Hampshire Republicans, with 75 percent saying they approve of his performance and 85 percent saying they are either “enthusiastic” or “satisfied” with his win in November.
When it comes to victory, the one glaring exception is at the federal level, where Granite State Republicans have only won one race in the past decade. Former Ambassador Scott Brown, who narrowly lost to Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 2014, was on hand Saturday, speaking to grassroots Republicans. It’s the latest sign that he’s likely run again in 2026.
“There was a lot of energy in the room, and people were engaging and upbeat,” Brown said after the meeting. “I was appreciative of the reception I got as well. Many people offered to help my campaign if I decide to run.”
MacEachern, who was the incumbent state committee vice chair, handily defeated perennial candidate Keith Hanson for the party chairmanship. Businesswoman Hollie Noveletsky, who made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination in the First Congressional District last year, was elected vice chair.
MacEachern told NHJournal that defeating Shaheen in 2026 at the federal level starts with empowering the local city and town committees represented by the people in the room Saturday.
“When I was attending local committee meetings running for chair, what I heard was that our party needed a clear message that will help us win at the local level. When we are active locally, when we keep our base engaged and excited, it’s easier to win at the state and federal level,” MacEachern said.
While same-day registration makes it hard to measure either party’s strength year to year via voter registration numbers, national polls show voters are becoming more Republican. In 2022, more Americans identified as Republican than Democrat for the first time since 1991 — the first year Gallup conducted the survey.
In the January Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, the Republican Party held a 52-41 percent approval rating advantage over the Democrats.
Ayotte told her fellow Granite State Republicans that the way to keep the party growing is to deliver on GOP values.
“I’m confident that if we deliver on a strong Republican agenda that’s fiscally responsible, protects taxpayers, and gives people more personal and economic freedom, we will continue to win up and down the ticket.
“And I want you to know I look forward to rolling up my sleeves, going to the doors with you in the next election, getting it done. Because we have a lot more work to do for the people of New Hampshire.”
