Our Votes for Governor Will Go Toward a Candidate Who Puts New Hampshire First and Moves Us Forward – Not Kelly Ayotte or Chuck Morse

Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with the New Hampshire delegation. Throughout the week, as speakers from across the country discussed the need to elect candidates who will fight for the interests of those they represent, safeguard our freedoms, and enact policies that move our communities forward, it was striking how many of these themes also apply to the New Hampshire governor’s race this year. 

New Hampshire’s primary is only days away on Tuesday, September 10th. On the Democratic side, there’s an encouraging field of candidates with a unifying vision for the issues that impact our generation – whether that be protecting reproductive freedom, keeping our environment clean, or making the dream of homeownership more attainable. 

By contrast, the leading Republican candidates – former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte and former State Senate President Chuck Morse – have an agenda that would only restrict our freedoms and drag us backwards. 

Both Ayotte and Morse have spent their careers fighting to bring about the previously unfathomable reality that we currently find ourselves in, where Granite Staters our age have less reproductive freedoms than our parents’ or even grandparents’ generations. 

During his time as New Hampshire’s Senate president, Morse was the “key architect” of the first abortion ban in our state’s modern history, and also celebrated the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Meanwhile, Ayotte played an active role in ensuring Roe was overturned, serving as “sherpa” to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, where he was the first Justice to sign onto the Dobbs decision just minutes after it hit his desk. Not only that, Ayotte used her single term in the U.S. Senate to push for restricting reproductive freedom at every opportunity. She repeatedly voted to defund Planned Parenthood, voted to restrict access to IVF and birth control, and led the effort to pass a national abortion ban — all of which earned her a 100% rating from the nation’s oldest and largest anti-abortion organization.    

Despite what they say, both Ayotte and Morse have extensive anti-choice records that leave no doubt they would be an imminent threat to Granite Staters’ reproductive freedom in the corner office.

Just as concerning as Ayotte’s record in Washington D.C. is how she has spent her time after. Since Granite Staters voted her out of office, Ayotte jumped at the chance to take highly paid board of directors seats on a laundry list of large corporations outside of New Hampshire, including firms from Massachusetts, New York and California. She’s collected millions of dollars in checks and stock options while turning a blind eye to these companies’ deeply problematic business practices – practices that negatively impact young Granite Staters the most.  

It’s no coincidence that as costs for housing and rent have skyrocketed in New Hampshire over the past few years, Ayotte has enriched herself off the housing crisis. Since 2019, she has made millions sitting on the board of Blackstone, the “nation’s largest landlord,” which has worsened the housing crisis by “buying distressed properties, raising rents, evicting tenants and managing some apartment complexes with deplorable conditions.” 

One of those properties, located near the University of New Hampshire in Durham, has received damning reviews from its tenants who called the property a “scam” and complained about rodent infestations. 

Ayotte’s pattern of padding her pockets off harmful corporate practices extends further. During her time on the board of Bloom Energy, the California-based energy company was fined by the EPA for improperly disposing of cancer-causing chemicals and was criticized for downplaying the negative environmental impact of its products. None of that mattered to Ayotte, because the checks kept coming and the stock options kept gaining value.

Ayotte’s time both in and out of office shows Granite Staters exactly who she is – a career politician who has always put herself and her own agenda first, even if it so clearly comes at the expense of communities across New Hampshire and the generations of tomorrow.  

College students across the Granite State are now getting settled in on campus and ready to start the new academic year. While they reconnect with friends and sign up for courses, they should also pay close attention to this year’s race for governor. The outcome will determine whether we have reproductive freedom, the ability to buy a house in the state that we love, and environmental protections that keep our communities safe and healthy. Whether it be Kelly Ayotte or Chuck Morse – it’s clear that the GOP nominee for governor will pose a grave threat to the brighter future we envision for New Hampshire.