Former GOP senator who broke with Trump in 2016 reveals why she is backing him this time

EXCLUSIVE: CONCORD, N.H. — As she runs this twelvemonth successful 1 of the apical gubernatorial elections successful the country, erstwhile Sen. Kelly Ayotte is making wide she supports former President Trump's bid to triumph backmost the White House.

"Under Joe Biden things outgo more, we’re little safe. There’s nary question that we are worse disconnected than we were than erstwhile President Trump was successful office," Ayotte charged successful a nationalist interrogation with Fox News Digital. "I’m supporting President Trump due to the fact that I judge we request to alteration courses for the nation."

While enactment for the GOP's presumptive statesmanlike nominee — acknowledgment to his immense grip implicit the enactment — seems similar a no-brainier for astir each Republicans moving successful 2024 for elective office, for Ayotte, it takes connected heightened importance.

Ayotte was a rising star successful the Republican Party successful 2016 arsenic the erstwhile authorities lawyer wide and first-term legislator with a burgeoning illustration connected nationalist information was moving for re-election.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS TAKE AIM AT BIDEN OVER ENERGY

Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican campaigner for governor, is surrounded by supporters arsenic she files her candidacy astatine the Secretary of State's bureau successful Concord, New Hampshire, connected Thursday. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)

But conscionable up of the 2016 election, she withdrew her enactment for Trump implicit the "Access Hollywood" controversy, successful which Trump successful a years-old video made highly crude comments astir grabbing women without their consent.

"I cannot and volition not enactment a campaigner for president who brags astir degrading and assaulting women," Ayotte said astatine the time. 

Ayotte mislaid re-election by a razor-thin borderline of conscionable implicit 1,000 votes astatine the hands of then-Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan.

But Ayotte somewhat outperformed Trump successful New Hampshire, arsenic Democratic statesmanlike nominee Hillary Clinton edged the White House victor by little than 3,000 votes.

TRUMP SUPPORTS THIS BLUE-STATE REPUBLICAN CRITIC OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT

Before retiring afloat clip to New Hampshire, Ayotte stuck astir Washington concisely aft the extremity of her term, shepherding then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch (Trump's archetypal precocious tribunal nominee) done his palmy Senate confirmation process.

In her post-Senate career, Ayotte enjoyed a lucrative play arsenic she served connected firm boards and successful advisory roles astatine some nationalist and backstage companies. Among them was News Corp., which astatine 1 clip was the genitor institution of Fox News.

Ayotte during the intervening years besides kept a adjacent oculus connected New Hampshire politics, and would occasionally look astatine Republican Party events successful the state. She besides continued to constitute sentiment pieces connected large state, nationalist and planetary issues.

The erstwhile legislator announced her gubernatorial bid astir a twelvemonth ago, aft fashionable Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced helium wouldn't question re-election successful 2024 to what would person been an unprecedented 5th two-year term.

Ayotte stayed neutral successful New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation statesmanlike primary, but she endorsed Trump successful aboriginal March, close aft helium clinched the GOP nomination.

"He’ll hole the catastrophe implicit the confederate borderline and we’re besides seeing it connected the bluish border, to support the state safe," Ayotte told Fox News connected Thursday. 

She added that Trump "also has a antithetic imaginativeness successful presumption of state and taxes" and argued that President Biden "has really, unfortunately, been a catastrophe for the country, and we request a change."

Ayotte was interviewed minutes aft she was greeted by a ample assemblage of supporters arsenic she arrived astatine the Secretary of State's bureau astatine the Statehouse successful Concord, New Hampshire, to officially record her candidacy for governor.

While she's the polling and fundraising front-runner for the GOP information successful New Hampshire's aboriginal September primary, she's travel nether repeated onslaught by her rival, erstwhile longtime authorities Senate president Chuck Morse, who came successful 2nd successful a crowded tract of contenders successful the 2022 U.S. Senate Republican primary.

Former New Hampshire authorities Senate president Chuck Morse, a Republican campaigner for governor, shakes hands with a protagonist arsenic helium arrives astatine the Secretary of State's bureau to record his candidacy successful Concord, New Hampshire, connected June 5. (Chuck Morse gubernatorial campaign )

"I deliberation there’s a large quality betwixt myself and Kelly Ayotte," Morse said past week arsenic helium filed astatine the Statehouse. "I started arsenic a conservative, and I finished arsenic a blimpish arsenic Senate president, and I committedness you, I volition beryllium a politician that’s a conservative.

"That’s not what Kelly did erstwhile she went to Washington."

And hours earlier she arrived to file, a Morse run memo asked which Ayotte would amusement up, "the alleged blimpish campaigner Kelly oregon the mean constitution she has ever been successful office."

THIS FORMER REPUBLICAN SENATOR NOW LAUNCHES BID FOR GOVERNOR IN KEY SWING STATE

Ayotte pushed backmost connected Thursday, emphasizing, "I americium a commonsense, beardown conservative, and I’m going to proceed this authorities down the way that Gov. Sununu has. And we’re going to person adjacent brighter days ahead."

And pointing to Morse, she argued, "I’ve known Chuck a agelong time, and this is simply a bittersweet mode for him to extremity his governmental career."

Morse, successful a connection to Fox News, fired back, charging that "Governor Chris Sununu followed a way blazed by blimpish leaders similar me, portion Kelly's grounds is littered with atrocious argumentation choices and voting with [Barack] Obama implicit 260 times. This authorities deserves leaders who look pugnacious questions, not those who fell from accountability. I'm here, acceptable to reply to the radical and proceed moving New Hampshire forward. If Kelly can't look her ain record, however tin she lead?"

Morse, who wasn't peculiarly adjacent to Trump erstwhile the erstwhile president archetypal ran for the White House, endorsed Trump successful December. He's showcased his backing of Trump and for months questioned Ayotte's enactment for the erstwhile president.

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While he's made dozens of endorsements successful competitory Republican primaries crossed the country, Trump remains neutral successful the New Hampshire gubernatorial race.

Asked if she'd clasp a Trump endorsement and if she'd run with him successful the Granite State, Ayotte told Fox News she would "certainly appreciate" the erstwhile president's backing. "Anyone who is offering their support, I’d emotion to person their support," she said.

"But connected the different hand, you deliberation astir what’s the astir important contented successful this contention and it’s the radical of New Hampshire," she emphasized. "So I’m campaigning each time to get the enactment and gain the enactment of the voters successful this race, and that’s what I’m doing connected the run way and volition proceed to do."

Ayotte besides praised Sununu, who to day has remained neutral successful the contention to win successful New Hampshire's governor's office.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu speaks with Fox News during a Republican Governors Association quality league astatine an lipid refinery successful Chalmette, Louisiana, connected June 3. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)

"The way that Gov. Sununu has america connected is 1 of prosperity, 1 of much freedom… I privation to proceed america down that path," she said. "I admit his enactment and the enactment that he’s done, and I privation to proceed his occurrence for his state."

Ayotted added that "he and I spot each different each the time. We spot each different connected the run trail. We’ve known each different a agelong time. I respect him and we person a large relationship."

In her Fox News interrogation and speaking to reporters astatine her filing, Ayotte besides took purpose astatine erstwhile Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and enforcement councilor Cinde Warmington, the 2 main Democrats moving for governor.

"My Democratic opponents person a precise antithetic imaginativeness for New Hampshire. They really deliberation that the Massachusetts exemplary is better," she reiterated. 

Since launching her campaign, Ayotte has targeted her Democratic rivals implicit New Hampshire's progressive neighbour to the south, which has agelong been a people for Granite State conservatives.

The Democratic Governors Association, successful a statement, charged that Ayotte "is a self-serving person who volition accidental oregon bash thing to win, adjacent lying to Granite Staters astir her unsafe grounds of restricting reproductive freedom."

Asked astir her stance connected termination arsenic she filed, Ayotte emphasized that she would support New Hampshire's authorities instrumentality that allows abortions done the archetypal 24 weeks of pregnancy.

"As governor, I volition support that law. I volition not alteration it. So they’re misleading the women of New Hampshire close present by making them deliberation that there’s going to beryllium thing other that volition happen. I privation them to cognize what our law, that I volition support it and that I won’t alteration it," she said.

Ayotte added that she "would pledge to veto restrictions" to the existent authorities law.

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