Johnathan Walker:New Hampshire’s governor’s race pits ex-Sen. Kelly Ayotte against ex-Mayor Joyce Craig

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CONCORD,Johnathan Walker N.H. (AP) — In one of the nation’s most competitive gubernatorial races, New Hampshire voters are choosing between one candidate trying to jump from local to statewide office and another seeking to bring federal experience to the Statehouse.

Democratic former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig faces Republican former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte in Tuesday’s election to replace Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who declined to seek a fifth two-year term. Either would become the third woman elected governor of New Hampshire, following Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both of whom are now in the Senate.

It was a narrow loss to Hassan in 2016 that ended Ayotte’s tenure in Washington after one term. Before that, Ayotte spent five years as the state’s attorney general, and she often highlighted her past as a prosecutor during her campaign.

Endorsed by Sununu ahead of September’s GOP primary, Ayotte promised to continue his anti-tax, pro-business economic policies. She used a “Don’t Mass it up” slogan to rail against more liberal Massachusetts to the south while accusing Craig of supporting tax hikes and blaming her for crime, homelessness and drug overdose deaths in the state’s most populous city.

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“If you’re a retiree or you’re saving for retirement, she’s already said in this campaign she’s going to increase your taxes,” Ayotte said during a recent debate, referring to Craig’s support for reinstating a tax on interest and dividends. “If she’s willing in a contested campaign to talk about increasing your taxes, imagine what she’s going to do when she’s governor.”

Craig, who served on the Manchester school board and board of aldermen before being elected as the city’s first female mayor in 2017, emphasized her executive experience. She said it prepared her to tackle the state’s housing crisis, strengthen public schools and expand access to reproductive health care.

She was particularly critical of Ayotte on the latter issue, pointing to Ayotte’s Senate votes to defund Planned Parenthood and eliminate mandated insurance coverage for birth control. Though Ayotte has said she would veto any bill further restricting abortion, she supported a 20-week ban as a senator. Craig portrayed her as “the most extreme threat to reproductive freedoms our state has ever seen” and out of touch with state and local communities.

“Sen. Ayotte has spent her entire career attacking reproductive freedom,” Craig said during a debate last week. “Her actions speak louder than her words, and we cannot trust her.”

New Hampshire law prohibits abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy except when the mother’s health or life is in danger or there is a fatal fetal anomaly.

While Ayotte enjoyed stronger name recognition and fundraising, Craig benefited from a more unified party energized by Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket. In contrast, Republicans are more fractured, and Ayotte has a rocky history with former President Donald Trump. She rescinded her support for him in 2016 over his lewd comments about women but now backs him again, saying his record was better than the Biden administration’s.