Kelly Ayotte and Joyce Craig to face off in New Hampshire governor's race
Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig have won their parties’ primaries for governor in New Hampshire, The Associated Press projects, setting up what’s expected to be a close November matchup in the Northeastern battleground state.
Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig have won their parties’ primaries for governor in New Hampshire, The Associated Press projects, setting up what’s expected to be a close November matchup in the Northeastern battleground state.
Ayotte, who has largely stayed out of electoral politics since she lost her Senate re-election campaign in 2016 by just over 1,000 votes, defeated former state Senate President Chuck Morse for the GOP nomination. Craig, the former mayor of Manchester, beat out Cinde Warmington, a former health care lobbyist and a member of the state’s Executive Council, in the Democratic primary.
Tuesday’s winners will quickly move into a rapid eight-week general election campaign to replace Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who opted not to run for a fifth two-year term.
Reproductive rights, housing costs and the opioid crisis have already emerged as the most prominent themes for the November general election, which the nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter has rated as a “toss-up.”
Ayotte’s victory Tuesday was expected. She held a wide lead in most polls of the GOP primary, allowing her to set her sights early on the general election.
Rating: 5