About Kelly Ayotte
Kelly Ann Ayotte ( AY-ott; born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2025 as the 83rd governor of New Hampshire. A member of the Republican Party, she served from 2011 to 2017 as a United States senator from New Hampshire and from 2004 to 2009 as the 27th attorney general of New Hampshire. Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, Ayotte is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, and Villanova University School of Law. She worked as a law clerk at the New Hampshire Supreme Court before entering private practice. She served as a prosecutor for the New Hampshire Department of Justice and briefly as the legal counsel to Governor Craig Benson before returning to the New Hampshire Department of Justice to serve as deputy attorney general. In 2004, Benson appointed Ayotte as attorney general of New Hampshire after Peter Heed resigned. She became the first woman to serve as New Hampshire's attorney general. She was twice reappointed by Governor John Lynch. Ayotte resigned as attorney general in 2009 to run for the U.S. Senate after Senator Judd Gregg announced his retirement. In September 2010, Ayotte narrowly defeated lawyer Ovide Lamontagne in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. She then defeated Democratic congressman Paul Hodes in the general election with 60% of the vote. Ayotte was mentioned as a possible running mate for Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. In 2016, Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan defeated Ayotte in her reelection bid by 1,017 votes (0.14%). After President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court, the Trump administration chose Ayotte to be the sherpa in charge of the White House team for Gorsuch's confirmation. Ayotte was elected governor of New Hampshire in 2024, defeating Democratic nominee Joyce Craig. In 2004, Ayotte appealed the First Circuit's ruling to the Supreme Court, over the objection of incoming Governor John Lynch. Ayotte had never run for office, but narrowly won the primary election on September 14, 2010.
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