Former US Senator Kelly Ayotte won the Republican primary for the governor of New Hampshire on Tuesday (September 10), with the endorsement of the outgoing governor Chris Sununu.
Backed by the current governor Sununu, Ayotte secured a significant victory in the primary on Tuesday night, defeating competitors such as former New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse.
As of 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Ayotte received 59,197 votes, leading with 65.9% of the votes. Morse came in second with 28,934 votes and 31.8% of the votes.
Among the other three candidates, Shaun Fife received only 628 votes, Robert McClory got 592 votes, and Frank Staples secured 523 votes, with all three receiving less than 1% of the votes.
Following the release of the election results, Ayotte stated that she will continue to follow in Governor Sununu’s footsteps, carrying forward his policies and governance direction. In addition, Ayotte also declared her support for Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
It is currently unclear which Democratic candidate Ayotte will be competing against for the governor position. On the Democratic side, former Mayor of Manchester Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington are vying for the nomination.
The non-partisan electoral analysis organization Cook Political Report has labeled the New Hampshire governor’s race as “too close to call”.
Delaware and Rhode Island also held primaries on Tuesday. These three New England states (including New Hampshire) represent the final round of internal party primaries before the November elections, where each will select their gubernatorial or congressional candidates to compete in the US elections on November 5.
New Hampshire has chosen Democratic presidential and congressional candidates in the past five elections, but with the Republican-dominated state legislature during Sununu’s governorship. Sununu has been re-elected four times as the governor of New Hampshire.