Republican Kelly Ayotte wins New Hampshire governor’s race

Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) is projected to win the New Hampshire gubernatorial race, keeping the office in Republican hands, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Ayotte was generally seen as the front-runner throughout the general election campaign to replace popular retiring Gov. Chris Sununu (R). In a recent University of New Hampshire survey, she led Democratic opponent Joyce Craig by 4 points.

A former attorney general for New Hampshire, Ayotte left that role to run for Senate in 2009 and ended up serving one term. In 2016, she lost reelection to Democrat Maggie Hassan by less than a percentage point.

Ayotte drew scrutiny over the past year for her support of former President Trump. In 2016, she initially endorsed the former president, only to revoke her support after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape, in which he was recorded making lewd comments about groping women.

This cycle, however, she threw her backing behind Trump whole-heartedly, opening her up to criticism from Craig. New Hampshire voters backed President Biden over Trump in 2020 by 8 points.

But the state, despite its Democratic leanings on the presidential level, has also been governed for nearly a decade by Sununu, a popular GOP figure who also has shifted his position in favor of Trump. Sununu endorsed Ayotte and campaigned with her in the state.