CONCORD, NH – Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte was sworn in as the 83rd governor of New Hampshire on Thursday and advocated for businesses to flee Massachusetts and come to the Granite State.
Kelly Ayotte Judges for Massachusetts Companies
When she began her campaign for New Hampshire Governor Ayotte declared “We’re one election away from Massachusetts becoming New Hampshire, and I’m not going to let that happen.”
Ayotte continued message Thursday when she was subsequently sworn in defeating Democrat Joyce Craig in November. Ayotte said in prepared remarks that Massachusetts serves as a “cautionary tale.”
“Year after year, their model of higher taxes and more government has made it harder for small businesses and families to make ends meet,” she said.
“To the people of Massachusetts, our neighbors in the Bay State. I want you to know that we love you to visit our communities, shop at our businesses, enjoy our outdoors. To the businesses of Massachusetts, we want you to talents to the Granite State,” Ayotte added, prompting applause.
Kelly Ayotte has taken the oath
Ayotte succeeds fellow Republican Chris Sununu, whose decision opposed a fifth two-year term in one of the nation’s most competitive gubernatorial races.
“I’m going to be governor for you, whether you’re Republican, Democrat, independent, you name it. Our state is so much bigger than a party or an ideology,” she said in a prepared speech. “Good government knows no party, so let’s show people that even when partisanship is at a fever pitch, we can set a different example.”
Ayotte vowed to continue Sununu’s anti-tax and pro-business policies, defeating five opponents in the Republican Party primary in September and Democratic former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig in the November election.
In her inaugural address, Ayotte said she would keep the state on a prosperous path but warned that belt-tightening would be necessary as lawmakers craft the next two-year budget.
“We’re going to have to look for better ways to do things with fewer dollars,” she said. “Just like that family making difficult decisions, there are things we cannot cut corners on: protecting our most vulnerable and serving those most in need.”
Ayotte is the third woman to be elected governor of New Hampshire, following Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, who are now both U.S. senators. They were the first and second women in the country to serve in the Senate after becoming governor. Ayotte is the first woman to do this in reverse, according to Eric Ostermeier, a research fellow at the University of Minnesota and author of the news site Smart Politics.
Kelly Ayotte’s top priority
While more than 150 sitting or former governors have become senators, Ayotte is among only 23 sitting or former senators who have been elected governor since 1900, Ostermeier said. In an interview in October, Ayotte said experience will serve her well.
“I understand not only how Washington works, but how to fight for New Hampshire. “I still have relationships there, across the aisle, with important people making decisions in Washington,” she said. “So I feel like it enhances my skills as a governor by doing this in reverse.”
A narrow loss to Hassan in 2016 ended Ayotte’s tenure in Washington after one term. Previously, Ayotte served as the state’s attorney general for five years, and during her campaign she often highlighted her past as a prosecutor.
She reiterated that Thursday, saying her top priority remains keeping the state safe. She also cited the state’s housing crisis as a top issue she wants to address, and she praised Republicans for expanding the state’s school voucher program. Without giving details, she also announced plans to ban cellphones in schools.
“Screens are negatively impacting our learning environments, drawing students’ attention away from their lessons and creating a barrier for teachers to do their work,” she says. “Not anymore.”
Ayotte said she looks forward to talking to students who visit the Statehouse and encouraging them to embrace public service.
“If we don’t teach our children about it, they won’t learn it,” she said. “It is so important to root our lives in something bigger than ourselves, and it is critical to the health of our state and our communities that our next generation steps up and contributes.”