{"id":2033,"date":"2026-06-05T19:05:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2033"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:05:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:05:05","slug":"republican-kelly-ayotte-and-democrat-cinde-warmington-file-for-n-h-governors-race-trade-barbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2033","title":{"rendered":"Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Cinde Warmington file for N.H. governor\u2019s race, trade barbs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When first-term incumbent governors seek reelection in New Hampshire, they rarely lose. Only twice in the past century, in 1926 and 2004, have such candidates suffered electoral defeat. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Democrats are increasingly frustrated with Graham Platner in Maine Senate race<\/a><\/p>\n

That history is a good omen for Republican incumbent Governor Kelly Ayotte, who formally her paperwork Thursday morning to seek a second two-year term. But one Democratic challenger, Cinde Warmington, who filed her own candidacy a few hours later, said she\u2019s nonetheless ready to pull off a rare win and prevent Ayotte from being reelected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warmington, a former executive councilor who finished second in the 2024 Democratic gubernatorial primary, said her 2026 campaign has been building momentum while Ayotte has failed Granite Staters and earned historically low approval ratings. People are \u201cfed up\u201d and want change, she said. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ayotte, a former US senator who previously served as the state\u2019s attorney general, said she\u2019s proud of the work she\u2019s done since taking the corner office last year. She expressed confidence that voters will see her actions as accomplishments and recognize \u201cstark\u201d contrasts between her and Warmington. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very different,\u201d Ayotte said. \u201cShe would take us in a direction of higher taxes, less freedom, and less opportunity: much more the Massachusetts way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t elect an opioid lobbyist to be our governor,\u201d she added. <\/span><\/p>\n

Warmington performed lobbying work 24 years ago on behalf of Purdue Pharma amid rising concern about OxyContin\u2019s addictive potential. She told state lawmakers back then that the opioid was \u201ca miracle drug\u201d with \u201cvery few side effects.\u201d Criticism of those comments weighed down her 2024 gubernatorial campaign and continues to cast a shadow, though she and her supporters contend she has since proven herself as a champion of addiction treatment and other forms of help for people grappling with substance misuse. <\/span><\/p>\n

When reporters asked three times Thursday about how she plans to overcome lingering wariness of her past lobbying work, Warmington deflected by criticizing Ayotte. She faulted the governor for \u201csky-high\u201d housing prices, an expanded voucher-like education program, and elevated electric rates due to what she described as Ayotte\u2019s \u201caddiction to fossil fuels.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Casting her 10,000th vote in a row, Susan Collins sets a Senate record<\/a><\/p>\n

Warmington also accused Ayotte of keeping in \u201clockstep\u201d with President Trump even as other governors sued his administration over abrupt cancellations of federal funding. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s failed to take him on when he took away money for hungry children. She failed to take him on when he took away housing money,\u201d Warmington said. \u201cThank goodness some other governors did that; I\u2019ll be the kind of governor that does that.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

When asked how the national context might impact her reelection bid, Ayotte said she\u2019s keeping her eyes and ears on the local level. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of New Hampshire are going to decide what leadership they want here in New Hampshire,\u201d she said, \u201cso I\u2019m focused on listening to them and what they think.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Candidates have until June 12 at 5 p.m. to sign up for either party\u2019s primary in this and many other races.<\/span><\/p>\n

This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. <\/i>Sign up here.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more R.I. judge says Trump officials must restart asylum and immigration processing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republican incumbent Governor Kelly Ayotte and Democratic challenger Cinde Warmington formally filed their paperwork Thursday as candidates in the New Hampshire governor’s race. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nRepublican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Cinde Warmington file for N.H. governor\u2019s race, trade barbs - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2033\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Cinde Warmington file for N.H. governor\u2019s race, trade barbs - 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