By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte of Nashua made official her candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor Thursday saying the issue before voters is about whether New Hampshire should become more like Massachusetts.
The former Attorney General was followed into the Secretary of State’s office by former Executive Councilor and former state Sen. Russell Prescott of Kingston, a Republican, who is seeking the nomination of his party to be the Congressman representing New Hampshire’s District 1 and he said the border issues are his top priority. Inflation is a companion issue.
A link to his website is here https://www.prescottforcongress.com/
He said he has been running for two years.
“If we don’t take care of what the budget deficit is, if we don’t bring that down every year, we are not going to tackle inflation because we will just over spend money we don’t have,” he said.
He said for immigration, “we need to just enforce our laws, work on them, make better laws if we need to with immigration, just to keep our borders secure.”
Ayotte said New Hampshire is the best place to live, work and raise a family “and under Governor Sununu’s leadership, our state is thriving, our economy is growing and I have to tell you, though, as good as we are doing, I believe our best days are ahead.
“I’m running for governor to keep New Hampshire safe, prosperous and free and we need to tackle our housing crisis, we need to strengthen our mental health system and we need to make sure that for our kids, this is the best state in the country to get a great education,” Ayotte said.
The future of New Hampshire is at stake “because my opponents have a very different vision for the state and they want to take us down a very different path.”
She said Democrat gubernatorial candidates Joyce Craig, the former mayor of Manchester, and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington “…think that the Massachusetts model is a better model than the path that Governor Sununu has us on.”
She said she has been campaigning around the state for almost a year and has listened hard to what the residents have to say, she is excited about the campaign and winning.
The top issue, she said, is the difference between Republicans and Democrats running for governor and the housing crisis by making sure the state is a good partner for municipalities.
“I believe in local control but we can partner with municipalities,” she said, “and work together.”
She said she supports the current law in the state on abortion which allows women to terminate their pregnancy up to six months.
“I believe there is consensus,” and she said Warmington and Craig are spreading falsehoods.
Friday, Craig is expected to file for the same office Ayotte is seeking and Warmington did that Wednesday.
Friday is the last day to file for office to be on the ballot for the Sept. 10 primary and Nov. 5 general election.