New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte projected to win second term

The Fox News Decision Desk projects that New Hampshire’s Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte, defeated Democratic challenger Cinde Warmington for a second two-year term.

Ayotte first won the governorship in 2024, defeating Democrat Joyce Craig by 9.34 percentage points. She succeeded fellow Republican Chris Sununu, who did not seek a fifth term. Ayotte had previously served as New Hampshire attorney general and as a US senator from 2011 to 2017.

Housing costs and the gas tax

Ayotte identified affordable housing as the state’s most pressing economic challenge. She pointed to laws already enacted on accessory dwelling units—smaller homes on the same lot as a main home—and building permits as measures intended to help. Warmington emphasized the cost of living and proposed suspending the state gas tax during her campaign.

Warmington is a healthcare attorney and former member of New Hampshire’s elected Executive Council, which approves state contracts and the governor’s judicial and executive branch nominations. Ayotte and her campaign attacked Warmington’s past lobbying for drugmaker Purdue Pharma, calling her an “opioid lobbyist.” Warmington said the work was decades old and that she regretted it. She accused Ayotte of using the attacks to draw attention away from her record as governor.

If the projected result holds, Ayotte will retain the governorship for another two-year term. The housing laws she cited are already in place; Warmington proposed suspending the gas tax during her campaign.