First New Hampshire gubernatorial debate offers few surprises

The pair of candidates looking to take Gov. Chris Sununu’s job in Concord held their first debate on Wednesday, when both tried to paint a picture of poor past performance by the other and label their opponent as bad for the Granite State.

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, a Democrat, joined the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce for an early morning meeting, during which Craig accused Ayotte of being too cozy with corporate landlords and Ayotte attempted to color a potential Craig administration as the end of New Hampshire as it’s currently known.

If those sound like familiar topics, it’s because they are. Both candidates have made the same sort of claims in advertisements or public statements, and Wednesday morning’s relatively measured and calm debate offered few new surprises.

“She thinks that the Massachusetts model is a better model for New Hampshire,” Ayotte said. “I couldn’t disagree more.”

“There is a lot on the line this election. Too many families and communities are being left behind,” Craig said.

Ayotte took specific aim at Craig over her four-year term overseeing the Queen City, saying the former mayor’s tenure is easily traced through the city’s tax code.

“As mayor, Mayor Craig proposed a tax increase every year she was in office. She overrode the tax cap. She failed that city,” Ayotte said.

According to Ayotte, Manchester business leaders told her that Craig’s tenure was best described as “inaccessible, not responsive, not focused enough on public safety.”

Craig said that Ayotte has spent too much time working alongside Blackstone, one of the world’s largest corporate landlords, at a time when the housing market in New Hampshire needs investment and help.

“Kelly Ayotte has been sitting on the largest landlord corporate board making millions of dollars,” Craig said. “This corporation has been jacking up rents and pushing people out of their homes. I have been on the front line helping people get homes, while she has been doing what she has to do to better herself. We cannot trust Kelly Ayotte.”

Craig said that, if she’s elected, she actually has a plan to help the housing market: build houses.

“As your governor, I will make sure we’re building those 60,000 homes and apartments and condos that are needed so that our young people, our seniors, and our hardworking families can afford to live here,” Craig said.

Ayotte pushed back, saying that Blackstone doesn’t hold enough property in New Hampshire to impact the rental market, and that “this is the problem with Mayor Craig.”

“She always attacks the private sector. We need the private sector at the table,” Ayotte said.

“You can not trust what Kelly Ayotte is saying. She will say anything to get elected,” Craig said.

Craig also pushed back on the assertion she would raise taxes if she’s elected, saying she would veto any income or sales tax proposal that came across the governor’s desk. Ayotte did not seem convinced.

“Mark my words: if Joyce Craig makes it into that corner office in Concord, we can kiss the New Hampshire advantage goodbye,” she said.

According to polling, the race for the governor’s office in New Hampshire is essentially tied, with both candidates running within the margin of error.

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