EXCLUSIVE: CONCORD, NH – Kelly Ayotte will be the the country’s newest governor on Thursday when she is inaugurated at the New Hampshire State House.
The former US senator, who previously served as attorney general, takes office a week and a half earlier in the important swing state of New England. President-elect Trump is inaugurated.
And Ayotte, who succeeds fellow Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in governing the Granite State, says she looks forward to working with the Trump administration.
“I will work with the administration on behalf of New Hampshire and advocate for the Granite State on important priorities: keeping the state safe, ensuring that when it comes to federal resources that we are advocating for New Hampshire, so I look I look at it to work with the government,” Ayotte said in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her inauguration.
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Former Senator Kelly Ayotte, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in New Hampshire, celebrates her election victory as governor on November 5, 2024. (Kelly Ayotte Campaign)
During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, which culminated with Ayotte defeating Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig by nearly 10 points in the November election, issue of illegal immigration and border security has often been in the spotlight in a state that shares a border with Canada and has long faced an acute fentanyl crisis.
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Ayotte, who promised during the campaign to prevent this New Hampshire from becoming a haven for illegal immigrants will get what Sununu has disliked for the past four years: a Republican in the White House.
“President Trump is going to enforce the laws, and that’s important to me. And we have a northern border.”
Republican Governor-elect Kelly Ayotte, a former U.S. Senator, is interviewed by Fox News Digital at the State House in Concord, NH on January 7, 2024 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Ayotte said of her term as attorney general: “I think it is important that criminals are held accountable. And as we look at New Hampshire, we will not allow New Hampshire to become a haven. And so it is important that we enforce our laws. We welcome legal immigration, but those who come here illegally and especially those who commit crimes must be held accountable.”
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, Ayotte was a rising star in the Republican Party and considered a leader in national security and foreign policy.
But Ayotte lost reelection in 2016 by a razor-thin margin of just over 1,000 votes to then-Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan.
Governor-elect Kelly Ayotte, left, and Governor Chris Sununu meet in the New Hampshire Governor’s Office at the State House in Concord, NH on November 7, 2024. (Office of the Governor of New Hampshire)
As she takes over the administration of the Granite State, she said that “my No. 1 priority is to be governor for everyone in New Hampshire, for all people, and to be accessible to the people of New Hampshire.”
“Ensuring that we continue to grow our economy, our prosperity and our freedom here in New Hampshire, have a responsible budget where we live within our means, but serve the people of New Hampshire effectively, those will be my priorities on day one .” she added.
Ayotte, who made history nearly two decades ago as the state’s first female attorney general, made history again in November as the first Republican woman to win election as governor of New Hampshire.
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“We have so many strong women who have served in this state, a great history,” Ayotte said. “There are so many examples of women who have led, and of great men who have also led.”
She said she hopes every young girl understands that whatever position she wants to achieve, it is available to her, and that we don’t even have these discussions about whether a woman or a man is chosen because it’s just equal for everyone. everyone needs to understand that those opportunities are there, and I think that’s what’s happening in New Hampshire.”
