Kelly Ayotte

Kelly Ayotte

Republican Party

Governor of New Hampshire

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Predecessor

Chris Sununu

Prior offices

Attorney General of New Hampshire

Successor: Michael Delaney

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U.S. Senate New Hampshire

Successor: Maggie Hassan

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Compensation

Base salary

$146,172

Net worth

(2012) $773,505

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Pennsylvania State University

Law

Villanova University

Personal

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Kelly Ayotte (Republican Party) is the Governor of New Hampshire. She assumed office on January 8, 2025. Her current term ends on January 6, 2027.

Ayotte was born on June 27, 1968, in Nashua, New Hampshire. She received a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1990 and a law degree from Villanova University in 1993.

Ayotte worked as an associate at the law firm McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton from 1994 to 1998, as a prosecutor for the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General from 1998 to 2003, and as legal counsel for former Governor Craig Benson (R) in 2003. She also worked for manufacturing companies BAE Systems, Inc. and Cirtronics, and she served as a board member for the nonprofits Swim with a Mission, Veterans Count, and the School Board of Saint Christopher Academy in Nashua.

Benson appointed Ayotte New Hampshire attorney general in 2004, becoming the state's first female attorney general. The following two governors, John H. Lynch (D) and Maggie Hassan (D), reappointed Ayotte. In 2010, Ayotte defeated Paul W. Hodes (D) 60.1%-36.8% to become a U.S. senator, where she chaired the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and the Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Operations and served on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Aging Committees. In the 2016 Senate election, Hassan defeated Ayotte by fewer than 800 votes.

Ayotte ran for governor in 2024, emphasizing public safety, immigration, and law enforcement in her campaign. Ayotte said, "New Hampshire is one election away from turning into Massachusetts. We need a tough conservative Governor who will keep us safe, prosperous and free." She said she would "make sure that our law enforcement officers have the resources and support they need to keep criminals off our streets" and "strengthen penalties for heroin and fentanyl dealers." Ayotte defeated Joyce Craig (D) 53.6%-44.3% in the general election for governor on November 5, 2024. Incumbent Chris Sununu (R) did not run for re-election.

As a senator, "She worked to protect our national security, rein in wasteful spending, and led the effort to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to address the opioid epidemic," according to her official website. In her inaugural address as governor, Ayotte emphasized decreasing state spending, saying, "[W]e do have to carefully look across our budgets of every agency and find the savings to deal with the financial realities we face." Ayotte also emphasized bipartisanship, saying, "I’m going to be a governor for you whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, an independent … because our state is so much bigger than a party or an ideology." Ayotte said she supported a ban on cellphones in schools, would cooperate with federal immigration policies, and would veto legislation restricting access to abortions.

Biography

Kelly Ayotte was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. She attended Nashua High School and received a B.A. from Pennsylvania State University in political science. In 1993, Ayotte graduated from Villanova University School of Law, where she had served as editor of the Environmental Law Journal. Her career experience includes working as an associate at McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton from 1994-1998, as a prosecutor for the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General from 1998-2003, and as legal counsel for Republican Governor Craig Benson in 2003.

Political career

Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.

Ayotte's political career includes the following offices:

• 2025-present: Governor of New Hampshire
• 2011-2017: U.S. Senate New Hampshire
• 2004-2009: Attorney General of New Hampshire

Elections

2024

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2024

General election

General election for Governor of New Hampshire

Kelly Ayotte defeated Joyce Craig and Stephen Villee in the general election for Governor of New Hampshire on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kelly Ayotte (R)	53.6	436,122
		Joyce Craig (D)	44.3	360,149
		Stephen Villee (L)	2.0	16,202
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,024

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 813,497
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Edmond LaPlante (Constitution Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Joyce Craig defeated Cinde Warmington and Jonathan Kiper in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joyce Craig	47.9	59,976
		Cinde Warmington	41.8	52,420
		Jonathan Kiper	9.4	11,789
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	1,076

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 125,261
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kelly Ayotte	63.1	88,117
		Chuck Morse	34.1	47,567
		Shaun Fife	0.6	876
	Submit photo	Robert McClory	0.6	839
		Frank Staples	0.6	809
	Submit photo	Richard McMenamon II	0.4	527
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	867

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 139,602
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ayotte received the following endorsements.

• Gov. Chris Sununu (R)
• Frmr. Gov. Craig Benson
• Frmr. Gov. Judd Gregg
• Humane Society Legislative Fund
• Nashua Police Patrolman's Association

2016

See also: United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2016

The race for New Hampshire's U.S. Senate seat was one of nine competitive battleground races in 2016. Incumbent Kelly Ayotte (R) conceded defeat to challenger Maggie Hassan (D) on November 9, 2016. They were separated by less than 800 votes.

After conceding, Ayotte said in a statement, “It has been a tremendous privilege to serve New Hampshire in the Senate and to make progress on addressing our heroin epidemic, making it easier for our small businesses to create good paying jobs, and supporting those who keep us safe in a dangerous world. This is a critical time for New Hampshire and our country, and now more than ever, we need to work together to address our challenges. The voters have spoken and now it’s time all of us to come together to get things done for the people of the Greatest State in this Nation and for the Greatest Country on Earth.”

In her victory speech, Hassan said, "We know that this election exposed very serious divisions in our country, and it's up to all of us -- elected leaders and citizens -- now to come together and focus on our common challenges and our common opportunities. Our work going forward is going to be to remember what unites us as Americans and how we can make progress together."

Hassan also defeated Libertarian candidate Brian Chabot.

During the campaign, Hassan attempted to tie Ayotte to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who lost the state to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Hassan's campaign manager, Marc Goldberg, said, "Trump helps. He unequivocally helps. [Ayotte] has this weight around her leg in Trump that she's dragging around."

Ayotte’s strategy was to distance herself from the top of the ticket and run a local campaign focused on issues that impacted New Hampshirites. Although she initially said that she would vote for Trump, on October 8, 2016, Ayotte withdrew her support for Trump after The Washington Post released a 2005 video of Trump making comments about women that were described as "extremely lewd." She added that she would cast her vote for Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Ayotte also chose to skip the Republican National Convention, preferring to attend campaign events across her state. She frequently spoke about her role in passing a bipartisan bill in the Senate that would help New Hampshire address its opioid abuse crisis and about her national security credentials.

Ayotte and Hassan both tried to define themselves as independent candidates who would stand up to members of their parties and special interest groups, in order to gain the support of independent voters in the state. Their task was difficult as outside groups tried to define these candidates by pouring nearly $91 million into the race. The candidates themselves had spent a combined total of $30.5 million, according to The Center for Responsive Politics.

U.S. Senate, New Hampshire General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Maggie Hassan	48%	354,649
	Republican	Kelly Ayotte Incumbent	47.9%	353,632
	Independent	Aaron Day	2.4%	17,742
	Libertarian	Brian Chabot	1.7%	12,597
Total Votes				738,620
Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State

U.S. Senate, New Hampshire Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kelly Ayotte Incumbent	78.9%	86,558
Jim Rubens	17.4%	19,139
Tom Alciere	1.4%	1,586
Gerard Beloin	1.1%	1,252
Stanley Emanuel	1.1%	1,187
Total Votes		109,722
Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State

A survey conducted November 12-18, 2014, by Purple Insights on behalf of Bloomberg Politics and Saint Anselm reported high favorability ratings for Ayotte. According to the study's results, Ayotte was viewed favorably by 47 percent of general election voters and unfavorably by only 27 percent.

Polls

After Gov Maggie Hassan (D) declared her intention to run for the Senate in 2016, polls were conducted to gauge public leanings about the contest between Ayotte and Hassan.

New Hampshire Senate - Kelly Ayotte vs. Maggie Hassan (April 2016-Present)
Poll	Kelly Ayotte	Maggie Hassan	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Monmouth University September 17-20, 2016	47%	45%	+/-4.9	400
NBC/WSJ/Maris September 6-8, 2016	52%	44%	+/-3.6	707
Emerson September 3-5, 2016	48%	46%	+/-3.9	600
WMUR/UNH August 20-28, 2016	42%	44%	+/-4.7	433
CBS News/YouGov August 10-12, 2016	41%	42%	+/-4.3	990
WBUR/MassINC July 29-August 1, 2016	40%	50%	+/-N/A	609
WMUR/UNH July 9-18, 2016	42%	45%	+/-4.5	469
ARG June 24-28, 2016	51%	42%	+/-4.2	533
PPP June 22-23, 2016	42%	44%	+/-N/A	578
Boston Herald/FPU May 25-28, 2016	48%	47%	+/-4.9	405
WBUR/MassINC May 12-15, 2016	46%	48%	+/-4.4	501
Dartmouth April 11-16, 2016	37%	35%	+/-5.15	362
WMUR/UNH April 7-17, 2016	43%	42%	+/-4.2	553
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

In December 2014, the New England College Polling Institute conducted a poll between Ayotte and Hassan. Although Hassan had not yet announced if she would run for the U.S. Senate seat, she was considered a strong potential candidate, and the poll's results revealed that this potential match-up could be a close race.

Hypothetical match-up poll: Ayotte vs. Hassan
Poll	Kelly Ayotte	Maggie Hassan	Another Candidate	Not Sure	Margin of Error	Sample Size
New England College Polling Institute December 1, 2014	48.1%	42.5%	4.4%	5.0%	+/-4.2	541
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

2010

On November 2, 2010, Ayotte was elected to the United States Senate. She defeated Paul W. Hodes (D), Chris Booth (Independent) and Ken Blevens (Libertarian).

U.S. Senate, New Hampshire General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kelly Ayotte	60.1%	273,218
	Democratic	Paul W. Hodes	36.8%	167,545
	Independent	Chris Booth	2%	9,194
	Libertarian	Ken Blevens	1%	4,753
Total Votes				454,710

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kelly Ayotte did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Ayotte’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Issues “New Hampshire is one election away from turning into Massachusetts. We need a tough conservative Governor who will keep us safe, prosperous and free.” - Kelly Ayotte Keep Our Communities Safe Kelly understands without public safety, there is no freedom. Her number one priority will be ensuring New Hampshire is the safest state in the nation. As Attorney General, Kelly served as the state’s chief law enforcement officer and worked hand in hand with the police. As Governor, she will make sure that our law enforcement officers have the resources and support they need to keep criminals off our streets. On day one, Kelly will work to strengthen penalties for heroin and fentanyl dealers. In particular, Kelly will work with law enforcement to prosecute dealers who come over the NH-MA border from the drug hubs of Lowell and Lawrence to the fullest extent of the law. Kelly will end the revolving door caused by misguided bail reforms that allow dangerous criminals to remain free and harm innocent civilians. Stop Illegal Immigration and Secure our Borders Kelly understands in order to stop the increasing flow of heroin and fentanyl into New Hampshire, we must secure our borders. President Biden’s irresponsible open border policies have led to drugs and criminals continuing to flow across our borders. These drugs are trafficked into New Hampshire and are killing Granite Staters. As a United States Senator, Kelly fought to increase funding for a border wall, advanced technology, and additional border patrol officers to stop illegal immigration. While Joe Biden’s open border policies have led to an exponential increase of illegal crossings at our northern border, New Hampshire’s Border Patrol units in the North Country are severely understaffed. As Governor, Kelly will strictly enforce immigration laws throughout our state and provide additional resources for northern law enforcement to aid in immigration enforcement. Kelly will require businesses to use E-Verify, block any attempt to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, and strictly enforce a zero-tolerance policy for sanctuary cities in New Hampshire. Back Law Enforcement and First Responders New Hampshire law enforcement officers and first responders risk their lives every time they step out of their home and go to work. Kelly Ayotte has always, and will always, have their backs. Law enforcement officers are asked to do more and more every day, yet they are underpaid, understaffed, and treated as the enemy by the radical left. It’s no wonder that recruitment and retention of police officers is becoming increasingly difficult across the state. As Attorney General, Kelly Ayotte stood shoulder to shoulder with New Hampshire’s law enforcement officers. In 2006, Kelly successfully prosecuted the horrific murder case of Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs, resulting in a conviction and death penalty sentence for his killer. Kelly understands the risk that officers face every day and has seen the evil that they confront on the streets. New Hampshire has the best law enforcement and first responders in the country – to keep them, we need to treat them like it. As Governor, Kelly will fix the broken retirement system that has plagued recruitment and retention and work with state, county, and local law enforcement and first responders to find ways to increase recruitment and retention efforts. First responders endure trauma daily with constant exposure to stress and danger. We must not only stand behind our first responders while they are on duty, but we must provide resources for wellness initiatives to ensure that they have the programs needed to provide any needed help or counseling. Combat the Heroin and Fentanyl Crisis The heroin and fentanyl abuse crisis reaches every community in all corners of our state. It’s not a partisan issue – we are losing a generation of Granite Staters to addiction. Too many parents across New Hampshire have lost their sons and daughters to these deadly drugs. The fight to end the drug crisis in New Hampshire must include care and support for those struggling with addiction. In the United States Senate, Kelly led the effort to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which provided grant funding for drug prevention, education, and treatment programs. In New Hampshire, we must continue to improve our model while expanding coverage and outreach to those struggling. At the same time, we need to stop the flow of illicit drugs into New Hampshire. As Governor, Kelly will strengthen the penalties for heroin and fentanyl dealers and put those who sell these deadly drugs behind bars. Honor and Support Our National Guard and Veterans Kelly is grateful for the men and women who serve in our United States Armed Forces and defend our freedom and way of life. Coming from a military family, Kelly understands the sacrifices that our service members and their families make every day. Her husband Joe was an A-10 Warthog pilot who retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. Kelly and Joe were married right before September 11, 2001, and after they returned from their honeymoon, Joe deployed to the Middle East. Their daughter, Kate, is a Cadet at the United States Air Force Academy and Kelly’s grandfather served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. Kelly believes that we have a responsibility to ensure that every military family receives the benefits and respect they have earned. In the United States Senate, Kelly served on the Armed Services Committee and Chaired the Subcommittee on Readiness. As a Senator, she was a leading advocate for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the outstanding Granite Staters who work there. She also led the efforts in Congress to successfully ensure that New Hampshire’s 157th Air Refueling Wing was the first Air National Guard base in the nation to receive the next generation KC-46A air refueling tanker. Kelly believes that our men and women in the military deserve excellent health care, including mental health care. In the Senate, Kelly helped lead the effort to address New Hampshire’s long-standing inequity in veterans’ access to health care by expanding their ability to seek care from non-VA providers. Kelly also worked to expand veterans’ access to healthcare in the North Country, and to ensure veterans with severe traumatic brain injury in New Hampshire have access to residential rehabilitation services and community-based care. We are blessed to have tens of thousands of veterans living in New Hampshire. They are amazing employees and citizens. Kelly will always honor and assist our veterans to make sure that New Hampshire becomes the most veteran friendly state in the nation. As Governor, Kelly will ensure that the New Hampshire Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services receives additional support and facilitate better coordination with veteran’s service and non-profit organizations so every veteran receives the support they need. Protect New Hampshire's Economic Advantage New Hampshire is an island of economic hope in the tax-burdened sea of New England. Kelly Ayotte will protect our New Hampshire Advantage, make the Granite State more affordable for middle-class families, reduce the regulatory and tax burdens for our businesses, and directly recruit new companies from around the country to move here and create more good-paying jobs for Granite Staters. Kelly helped her husband Joe start a small landscaping and snow plowing business which he owned and operated for over a decade. Kelly has spent the past several years working with companies in New Hampshire and across the country, including serving on the boards of BAE Systems Inc., New Hampshire’s largest manufacturing employer, and Cirtronics, an employee-owned manufacturing company in Milford. Kelly knows how important it is for New Hampshire to continue to improve our pro-business environment. Kelly will never allow an income or sales tax to be imposed in New Hampshire. She will cut burdensome regulations to give individuals more freedom and allow businesses to thrive and grow. As Governor, Kelly will empower the private sector and explore new options to address the rising cost and shortage of housing across the state. Granite Staters are suffering with skyrocketing health care costs. Kelly will fight powerful insurance companies and the ever-growing healthcare bureaucracy to increase transparency and competition in our state to create more affordable healthcare options for individuals and businesses. Kelly understands fiscal responsibility is the key to maintaining the New Hampshire Advantage. In the United States Senate, Kelly voted to rein in reckless federal spending, ban earmarks, and fought for a balanced budget amendment. In Concord, she will deliver a responsible, balanced budget for Granite Staters. Lower Energy Costs Granite Staters have seen their energy bills rise at unacceptable rates. Kelly’s utmost energy priority will be reducing costs for Granite Staters. Kelly will take an all-of-the-above approach to lower energy costs while focusing on stability, affordability, modernization, sustainability, and market-driven solutions. To stabilize future energy costs, New Hampshire must modernize our aging energy infrastructure and develop new sources that will help drive energy costs down. Using a technology-neutral approach, the focus will be lowering the price of energy – not pushing an ideology. The best solutions don’t come from the government, they are market driven from the private sector. Kelly will cut the red tape and minimize government barriers to private-sector innovation for cost-effective energy solutions. Make New Hampshire #1 in Education Kelly will fight for Universal education freedom because every child should have the same learning opportunities and chance at success, regardless of their zip code or family income. As Governor, Kelly will enthusiastically work to pass and sign the Parental Bill of Rights. Parents have a right to decide what is best for their child – period. A product of Nashua public schools, Kelly will prioritize making New Hampshire public schools the best in the country. Kelly will reward good teachers and recruit great ones by improving pay and benefits for high-performing educators who focus on academics and help children succeed. While rewarding good teachers, Kelly will not be afraid to hold educators and administrators accountable when they inappropriately bring politics or gender ideology into the classroom. With schools closed during COVID-19, New Hampshire’s students suffered immeasurable loss of learning and social development. In the coming years, Kelly will focus on strengthening New Hampshire’s academic standards and bringing our students up to speed to make up for lost time in classrooms. Children are in school to learn academics – not to be indoctrinated by ideologies. As Governor, Kelly will focus on letting kids be kids, and get back to the important basics of education, prioritizing math, civics, English, science, and history. Defend Our Second Amendment Rights Kelly will fight to defend our rights and ensure we keep New Hampshire’s ‘Live Free or Die’ spirit alive. Kelly was honored to serve as the “Sherpa” for Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Constitutional originalist, when he was nominated to the Supreme Court. Kelly is a strong advocate and defender of our Second Amendment rights. In the Senate, Kelly protected our right to keep and bear arms and fought back against repeated efforts by the left to eliminate or diminish those rights. Kelly sponsored legislation to establish concealed carry reciprocity, so that our right to self-defense would be fully protected while traveling state-to-state. Kelly also fought back against Barack Obama’s plans to fund a United Nations Arms Trade Treaty that would have restricted the Second Amendment rights of American citizens. As Governor, Kelly will defend our constitutional carry status and block the Biden Administration’s efforts to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Granite State gun owners. Strengthen Our Mental Health System Many Granite Staters are struggling with or caring for a loved one struggling with mental illness. Kelly will work with advocates, health care providers, and mental health facilities to improve our mental health care system and ensure that we have sufficient treatment capacity and help for those who are suffering from mental illness. To continue tackling the growing needs in our state for more mental health outpatient and inpatient services, we need to address the workforce shortage in the healthcare industry. We must attract and retain a high-quality workforce that includes more psychologists, counselors, nurses, and others to ensure Granite Staters receive the quality care they need. Unfortunately, in New Hampshire, suicide is one of the leading causes of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24. We must provide additional resources to increase training and awareness for recognizing signs of suicide and knowing how to help our loved ones. Kelly has a longstanding commitment to improving our mental health system. In the United States Senate, Kelly led efforts to pass legislation on mental health first aid, providing support for training programs to help identify, understand, and address crisis situations safely. For her work to strengthen our mental health care system, Kelly was honored as the Legislator of the Year by the National Council for Behavioral Health and received the Allies in Action Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Stop New Hampshire From Becoming Massachusetts Kelly is a homegrown conservative who is running for Governor because she is concerned that we are one election away from becoming Massachusetts — from becoming something we are not. Kelly was born here, raised here, she and Joe have raised their children here and they will never leave New Hampshire because they love and appreciate how different and special our state and its people are. Kelly will fight to ensure that New Hampshire remains the best place to raise a family. She will fight to protect the New Hampshire Advantage of no income or sales taxes which sets us apart from our neighbors. She will fight and strengthen our live free or die values which make New Hampshire a beacon for freedom in New England and throughout the country. As Governor, Kelly will make sure New Hampshire remains safe, prosperous and free. Champion Women's Health Kelly Ayotte is a proud champion for women and women’s health. As a United States Senator, she fought to provide women greater access to contraception, more accurate cancer screenings, including 3-D mammograms, and she fought to protect pregnant workers from discrimination. Her focus has always been to improve access to affordable health care for women and to look for ways to obtain better health outcomes, and she will take the same approach as Governor. Kelly supports and will not change New Hampshire’s current law, which protects women’s freedom to obtain an abortion for any reason up to six months of pregnancy and provides exceptions in the last three months for a medical emergency or a fatal fetal anomaly. Kelly also unequivocally supports access to IVF for every couple who wishes to use it. She has personally seen friends use IVF to start and grow their families, and she knows how important it is that this critical treatment is accessible and affordable. As Governor, she will hold insurance companies and health care providers accountable to lower costs for IVF treatment to make it accessible to more New Hampshire families. Fix Our Housing Crisis To keep New Hampshire on the path to prosperity, we need to fix our housing crisis. As someone born and raised in New Hampshire, and who raised her family in New Hampshire, Kelly wants every Granite Stater to have that same opportunity. Kelly will work to streamline the state permitting process and cut unnecessary red tape to make it easier to build new housing in New Hampshire. She will also fight overly burdensome Washington regulations that impede New Hampshire. Kelly will work with local communities to incentivize them to build more housing by partnering with them while respecting local decision making. As Governor, Kelly will look to assist local communities who expand workforce housing with infrastructure resources and other available state and federal grants, such as Invest NH. Finally, Kelly will convene state and municipal officials and the private sector to bring all of the stakeholders to the table to determine how we can work together to build more affordable housing in New Hampshire.	”
—Kelly Ayotte’s campaign website (2024)

2016

The following issues were listed on Ayotte's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

“	Jobs & the Economy: Kelly is committed to giving our kids even better opportunities than she had growing up in New Hampshire. Heroin Epidemic: The heroin and prescription drug abuse crisis is devastating our communities and taking our loved ones from us. Kelly is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to fighting this epidemic and is leading efforts in New Hampshire and in the Senate to address this public health crisis. Working Families: As a working mom who commutes from Nashua every week, Kelly knows how hard it is to balance a full-time job while raising a family. Military & Veterans: Kelly’s husband, Joe, flew combat missions in Iraq, so her commitment to honoring the promises we’ve made to our veterans is deeply personal. Taxes & Spending: Like most working parents, Kelly and Joe keep a close eye on their household budget and put money away for major expenses down the road. Kelly believes that the federal government should have to live within its means, just like we do here in New Hampshire.	”
—Kelly Ayotte's campaign website

Presidential preference

2016

See also: Republicans and their declared positions on Donald Trump and Republican reactions to 2005 Trump tape

• On October 8, 2016, Ayotte withdrew her support for Trump after The Washington Post released a 2005 video of Trump making comments about women that were described as "extremely lewd." Ayotte said that she would not vote for Trump or for Clinton. She added that she would cast her vote for Governor and vice presidential nominee Mike Pence. Her statement appears below:

• I will not vote for Donald Trump. Read my statement here: pic.twitter.com/F8zajgDZpg

  — Kelly Ayotte (@KellyAyotte) October 8, 2016

• On August 16, 2016, Ayotte made the distinction between her decision to support Trump, rather than endorse him. She said, "There's actually a big distinction: Everyone gets a vote, I do too. And an endorsement is when you are campaigning with someone. While he [Trump] has my vote he doesn't have my endorsement. I'm going to continue to focus on my race and getting out to people what I have done and getting results for people in New Hampshire." Ayotte added that she would not hesitate to stand up to the next president. She said, "I will take on my own party. I really believe that this is a big issue in this race -- that I am the one candidate that will stand up to whomever is in the White House to do good things when we can work together -- also when it's wrong to stand up to them." When asked twice "if she trusted Trump having his finger on the nuclear codes," Ayotte avoided directly answering the question. She said, "I think, again, we have a system, a strong system, of checks and balances. Certainly when he is elected, if he is elected, I would hope that he will surround himself with very knowledgeable people."

• In July 2016, Ayotte said, “I will be voting for Donald Trump.”

• On May 4, 2016, the day after Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, Liz Johnson, communications director for Kelly for New Hampshire, said, “As she's said from the beginning, Kelly plans to support the nominee. As a candidate herself, she hasn't and isn't planning to endorse anyone this cycle.” Ayotte did not mention Donald Trump in her statement.

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Kelly Ayotte endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Endorsement of Scott Brown

Ayotte endorsed Scott Brown in his run for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire before he had officially announced his candidacy. Ayotte said, "I served with Sen. Brown, I have a lot of respect for him. It’s up to him whether he’s going to run. But absolutely he’d be a very strong candidate."

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Kelly Ayotte campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Governor of New Hampshire	Won general	$7,918,350	$0
2010	U.S. Senate (New Hampshire)	Won	$4,414,291	N/A**
Grand total			$12,332,641	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Kelly Ayotte

Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Mitt Romney  source  (R)	President of the United States (2012)	Primary	Lost General

Personal Gain Index

See also: Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress)

The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants.
It consists of two different metrics:

• Changes in Net Worth
• The Donation Concentration Metric

PGI: Change in net worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index) and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Ayotte's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $436,015 and $1,489,999. That averages to $963,007, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican senators in 2012 of $6,956,438.47. Ayotte ranked as the 64th most wealthy senator in 2012. Between 2009 and 2012, Ayotte's calculated net worth increased by an average of 35 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.

Kelly Ayotte Yearly Net Worth
Year	Average Net Worth
2009	$466,604
2012	$963,007
Growth from 2009 to 2012:	106%
Average annual growth:	35%
Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership, and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

PGI: Donation Concentration Metric

See also: The Donation Concentration Metric (U.S. Congress Personal Gain Index)

Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org, Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). Ayotte received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Securities & Investment industry.

From 2005-2014, 27.47 percent of Ayotte's career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below.

Kelly Ayotte Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$8,142,707
Total Spent	$6,364,159
Top five industries that contributed to campaign committee
Securities & Investment	$773,942
Retired	$469,844
Lobbyists	$369,870
Insurance	$337,916
Lawyers/Law Firms	$285,490
% total in top industry	9.5%
% total in top two industries	15.27%
% total in top five industries	27.47%

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Ayotte was a rank-and-file Republican as of July 2014 This was the same rating Ayotte received in May 2013.

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.

Ayotte most often voted with:

• Jeff Flake
• Joe Manchin

Ayotte least often voted with:

• Susan Collins
• Tammy Baldwin

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Ayotte missed 15 of 1,412 roll call votes from January 2011 to September 2015. This amounts to 1.1 percent, which is better than the median of 1.6 percent among current senators as of September 2015.

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Ayotte paid her congressional staff a total of $1,334,769 in 2011. She ranked second on the list of the lowest paid Republican senatorial staff salaries and ranked second overall of the lowest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, New Hampshire ranked 48th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $413,476,982 in fiscal year 2011.

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.

2013

Ayotte ranked 35th in the conservative rankings in 2013.

2012

Ayotte ranked 36th in the conservative rankings in 2012.

2011

Ayotte ranked 17th in the conservative rankings in 2011.

Voting with party

The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus.

2014

Ayotte voted with the Republican Party 85.1 percent of the time, which ranked 31st among the 45 Senate Republican members as of July 2014.

2013

Ayotte voted with the Republican Party 84.4 percent of the time, which ranked 32nd among the 46 Senate Republican members as of June 2013.

Congressional tenure

Key votes

114th Congress

The first session of the 114th Congress enacted into law six out of the 2,616 introduced bills (0.2 percent). Comparatively, the 113th Congress had 1.3 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the first session. In the second session, the 114th Congress enacted 133 out of 3,159 introduced bills (4.2 percent). Comparatively, the 113th Congress had 7.0 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session. The Senate confirmed 18,117 out of 21,815 executive nominations received (83 percent). For more information pertaining to Ayotte's voting record in the 114th Congress, please see the below sections.

Economic and fiscal

Trade Act of 2015

See also: The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, 2015

On May 22, 2015, the Senate passed HR 1314, which was used as a legislative vehicle for trade legislation with the titles "Trade Act of 2015" and the "Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015," by a vote of 62-37. The bill proposed giving the president trade promotion authority (TPA). TPA, also known as fast track authority, allows the president to negotiate trade deals that cannot be amended by Congress. Congress casts a simple up or down vote on a trade agreement, and the legislation only requires a simple majority for approval. The bill also included a statement of trade priorities and provisions for trade adjustment assistance. Ayotte voted with 47 other Republican senators to approve the bill.
Trade promotion authority
On June 24, 2015, by a vote of 60-38, the Senate approved trade promotion authority (TPA) as part of HR 2146 - Defending Public Safety Employees' Retirement Act. Ayotte was one of 47 Republicans to vote in favor of the bill. After, Senate Republican leadership honored a pledge to support trade adjustment assistance (TAA) by passing the measure as part of HR 1295 - Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 by voice vote. The House passed HR 1295 the following day, on June 25, 2015, and both TPA and TAA were signed into law on June 29, 2015.

2016 Budget proposal

On May 5, 2015, the Senate voted to approve SConRes11, a congressional budget proposal for fiscal year 2016, by a vote of 51-48. The non-binding resolution will be used to create 12 appropriations bills to fund the government. The vote marked the first time since 2009 that Congress approved a joint budget resolution. All 44 Democrats voted against the resolution. Ayotte voted with 50 other Republican senators to approve the bill.

Defense spending authorization

On November 10, 2015, the Senate passed S 1356 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 by a vote of 91-3. The second version of the $607 billion national defense bill included "$5 billion in cuts to match what was approved in the budget" and language preventing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay military prison. Ayotte voted with 47 Republicans, 42 Democrats and one independent to approve the bill. On November 5, 2015, the House passed the bill by a vote of 370-58, and President Barack Obama signed it into law on November 25, 2015.

On June 18, 2015, the Senate passed HR 1735 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 by a vote of 71-25. The bill "authorizes FY2016 appropriations and sets forth policies for Department of Defense (DOD) programs and activities, including military personnel strengths. It does not provide budget authority, which is provided in subsequent appropriations legislation." Ayotte voted with 48 Republicans, 21 Democrats and one Independent to approve the bill. The House passed the bill on May 15, 2015. President Barack Obama vetoed the bill on October 22, 2015.

2015 budget

On October 30, 2015, the Senate passed HR 1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 by a vote of 64-35. The bill increased military and domestic spending levels and suspended the debt ceiling until March 2017. Ayotte voted with 17 Republicans, 44 Democrats and two independents in favor of the bill. It passed the House on October 28, 2015. President Barack Obama signed it into law on November 2, 2015.

Foreign Affairs

Iran nuclear deal

See also: Iran nuclear agreement, 2015

On May 7, 2015, the Senate voted to approve HR 1191 - A bill to provide for congressional review and oversight of agreements relating to Iran's nuclear program, and for other purposes, by a vote of 98-1. The bill required President Barack Obama to submit the details of the nuclear deal with Iran for congressional review. Congress had 60 days to review the deal and vote to approve, disapprove or take no action on the deal. During the review period, sanctions on Iran could not be lifted. Ayotte voted with 52 other Republican senators to approve the bill. Senator Tom Cotton (Ark.) was the only Republican who voted against the bill.

Hire More Heroes Act of 2015
On September 10, 2015, the Senate voted to filibuster the measure to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal by a vote of 58-42. Sixty votes were needed to proceed to HJ Res 61 - the Hire More Heroes Act of 2015, the legislative vehicle the Senate was expected to use to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal. Ayotte voted with 53 other Republicans and four Democrats to proceed to the measure of disapproval.

Hire More Heroes Act of 2015 follow up votes
On September 15, 2015, the Senate voted for a second time to filibuster the measure to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal by a vote of 56-42. Sixty votes were needed to proceed to HJ Res 61 - the Hire More Heroes Act of 2015, the legislative vehicle the Senate was expected to use to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal. Ayotte voted with 51 Republicans and four Democrats to proceed to the measure of disapproval. The legislation was voted on for a third time on September 17, and it failed for a third time by a vote of 56-42.

Hire More Heroes Act of 2015 fourth vote
On September 17, 2015, the Senate voted to filibuster a vote on S.Amdt.2656 to S.Amdt.2640 by a vote of 53-45. The amendment proposed prohibiting "the President from waiving, suspending, reducing, providing relief from, or otherwise limiting the application of sanctions pursuant to an agreement related to the nuclear program of Iran." Ayotte voted with 51 Republicans and one Democrat to proceed to the amendment.

Immigration

On October 20, 2015, the Senate voted against proceeding to a vote on S 2146 - the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act by a vote of 54-45. The bill proposed withholding federal funding from "sanctuary jurisdictions" that violate the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and other federal immigration laws. In addition, the bill proposed increasing "penalties for individuals who illegally reenter the United States after being removed" and providing "liability protection for State and local law enforcement who cooperate with Federal law enforcement." Ayotte voted with 51 Republicans and two Democrats in favor of proceeding to the bill.

Domestic

USA FREEDOM Act of 2015

On June 2, 2015, the Senate passed HR 2048 - the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015 or the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 by a vote of 67-32. The legislation revised HR 3199 - the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 by terminating the bulk collection of metadata under Sec. 215 of the act, requiring increased reporting from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and requiring the use of "a specific selection term as the basis for national security letters that request information from wire or electronic communication service providers, financial institutions, or consumer reporting agencies." Ayotte voted with 22 Republicans, 43 Democrats and one Independent to approve the legislation. It became law on June 2, 2015.

Federalism

Loretta Lynch AG nomination

On April 23, 2015, the Senate voted to confirm Loretta Lynch as United States Attorney General by a vote of 56-43. All 44 Democratic senators voted to confirm Lynch. Ayotte voted with nine other Republican senators to confirm Lynch.

Cyber security

On October 27, 2015, the Senate passed S 754 - the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 by a vote of 74-21. The bill proposed procedures that would allow federal agencies and private entities to share information about cyber threats. Ayotte voted with 42 Republicans, 30 Democrats and one independent in favor of the bill.

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 224 out of the 3215 introduced bills (7 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session. The Senate confirmed 13,949 out of 18,323 executive nominations received (76.1 percent). For more information pertaining to Ayotte's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.

National security

John Brennan CIA nomination

Ayotte voted against the confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2013, with a vote of 63 - 34. Most Democrats supported the nomination, while Republicans were somewhat divided with roughly one-third supporting the nomination.

Drones filibuster

See also: Rand Paul filibuster of John Brennan's CIA Nomination in March 2013

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists criticized President Obama for not offering a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.

Ayotte was one of 30 Republican senators who did not support the filibuster.

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."

Economy

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

An aide for Ayotte said, "Any days that federal workers do not get paid, Sen. Ayotte will donate her salary to a New Hampshire charity."

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies. The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Ayotte voted with the Democratic Party for the bill.

No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013

Ayotte voted for H.R.325 -- No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed the Senate on January 31, 2013, with a vote of 64 - 34. The purpose of the bill was to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling and withhold the pay of members of Congress until a budget could be passed. The vote largely followed party lines with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting it and many Republicans in opposition to the bill.

Immigration

Mexico-U.S. border

Ayotte voted for Senate Amendment 1197 -- Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border. The amendment was rejected by the Senate on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 39 - 54. The purpose of the amendment was to require the completion of 350 miles of fence described in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 before registered provisional immigrant status may be granted. It would also require 700 miles of fence be completed before the status of registered provisional immigrants may be changed to permanent resident status. The vote followed party lines.

Social issues

Violence Against Women (2013)

Ayotte voted for S.47 -- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, with a vote of 78 - 22. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. All 22 dissenting votes were cast by Republicans.

Background checks on gun sales

On April 17, 2013, the U.S. Senate took a vote on and defeated a measure that would have expanded federal background checks for firearms purchases. The vote was 54-46, with supporters falling six votes short of the required 60-vote threshold. Only four Republican members of the Senate voted for the bill, and Ayotte was not one of them-- making her the sole senator from the Northeast to take part in what was called a "triumph for the National Rifle Association." Despite New Hampshire's as well as the region's "long tradition of support for gun rights," one poll from 2013 showed that almost 95 percent of state residents supported background checks. Underlining this statistic, in the weeks following her vote against the legislation, Ayotte encountered severe backlash on both the local and national level. In addition to declining job approval ratings, tensions over Ayotte's decision to oppose the Senate's bipartisan efforts--with full backing from the Obama administrion--to stiffen background checks for prospective gun owners came to the fore through a series of tense live interactions at town hall meetings back in New Hampshire in the aftermath of the vote. The town halls were arranged by national organizations such as Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and liberal think tank the Center for American Progress, in partnership with New Hampshire voters and local gun control activists. When prompted by the son of one of the victims from the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, to defend her nay vote, Ayotte said she did not believe in the bill's ability to prevent tragedies such as the Newtown elementary school shooting, and instead would like to redirect the debate to target the mental health issues at the root of the violence. She also acknowledged the amount of resistance her vote provoked from colleagues and constituents, saying that “We can have strong disagreements, but ultimately everything should be debated and discussed. And I’ll continue to do that.” Ayotte indicated that she would support measures which, unlike the legislation she recently rejected, would effectively motivate the U.S. Justice Department to take their job of enforcing and prosecuting existing gun laws more seriously, and to staunch the sales of firearms on the black market."

As of Public Policy Polling Institute's April 19-21 poll, Ayotte's approval rating dropped 15 percentage points since October, and 50 percent of New Hampshire voters surveyed said that Ayotte’s rejection of the background check plan would make them less likely to support her in a future election, while 23 percent viewed her decision favorably.

Mental heath bill

Following the Navy Yard shootings in September 2013, Ayotte and Mark Begich released a joint statement asking the Senate to consider a bill on mental health. They said, "Given the clear connection between recent mass shootings and mental illness, the Senate should not delay bipartisan legislation that would help address this issue. We urge Leader Reid and Leader McConnell to work together to bring this bill to the Senate floor as a stand-alone bill that could be voted on and passed immediately."

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Ayotte voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by an 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.

Issues

Clean Power Plan

In October 2015, Ayotte endorsed the Clean Power Plan. She said, "It’s so important that we protect New Hampshire’s beautiful environment for our economy and for our future. After carefully reviewing this plan and talking with members of our business community, environmental groups, and other stakeholders, I have decided to support the Clean Power Plan to address climate change through clean energy solutions that will protect our environment."

National security

Letter to Iran

On March 9, 2015, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote a letter to Iran's leadership, warning them that signing a nuclear deal with the Obama administration without congressional approval constituted only an executive agreement. The letter also stated that "The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time." The letter was signed by 47 Republican members of the Senate. Ayotte was one of the 47 who signed the letter. No Democrats signed it.

Members of the Obama administration and of Congress reacted to the letter. Vice President Joe Biden said of the letter, "In thirty-six years in the United States Senate, I cannot recall another instance in which senators wrote directly to advise another country — much less a longtime foreign adversary — that the president does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them."

Financial disclosure

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which operates the political financial information website, OpenSecrets.org, the then United States Senator-elect Kelly Ayotte failed to file a personal financial disclosure report for calendar year 2009. While there are records showing that the former New Hampshire Attorney General had filed a disclosure form covering the period of time between January 2008 until November 2009, four months after officially launching her Senate campaign, there is nothing to suggest that she delivered the form comprising all of the year 2009. Disclosure rules set down by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics "require any individual Senate candidate who raises or spends more than $5,000 to file a personal financial disclosure report within 30 days of meeting that financial threshold" and continue filing "reports every year he or she continues to be a candidate." Filing late with the committee will earn a candidate a $200 fine and "willful falsification of information of failure to file or report information required" can lead to a civil penalty up to $50,000, disciplinary action by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics or criminal prosecution.

Jeff Grappone, a spokesman for the Republican Senator, stated that she was unaware that she needed to file the form. Ayotte, who resigned from her statewide position as attorney general on July 17, 2009, "received no additional income" for that year and did not believe she "needed to file an additional form," according to a statement released by the campaign. About a day after this report was published, Ayotte's spokesman reported that she had since filed the belated report with the committee.

Abortion

Prior to the launch of her United States Senate campaign, Ayotte had simply stated that she was pro-life. In the run up to her throwing her hat into the Senate campaign ring, however, she clarified her position, arguing that "she would support abortion in limited cases, such as rape, incest or medical emergency." Ayotte had also said that she was "committed to rescinding taxpayer funding of abortion in health care," in particular those concessions made by pro-choice groups that helped assure the passage of the federal health care reform measure in March 2010.

During the course of her 2010 United States Senate campaign, Ayotte received the endorsement of several pro-life organizations, including the Susan B. Anthony List and the National Right to Life PAC, in addition to numerous national pro-life figures such as former Governor of Alaska and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Committee assignments

2015-2016

Ayotte served on the following committees:

• Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Chairman
  • Subcommittee on Seapower
• Budget Committee
• United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security, Chairman
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  • Subcommittee on Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
  • Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

2013-2014

Ayotte served on the following Senate committees:

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on SeaPower
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support Ranking member
  • Subcommittee on Personnel
• Senate Budget Committee
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Ranking member
• Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight
  • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
• Aging

2011-2012

Ayotte served on the following committees:

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
  • Subcommittee on Personnel
• Senate Budget Committee
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Chris Sununu (R)	Governor of New Hampshire 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	U.S. Senate New Hampshire 2011-2017	Succeeded by Maggie Hassan (D)
Preceded by -	Attorney General of New Hampshire 2004-2009	Succeeded by Michael Delaney (D)