Kelly Ayotte

Kelly Ayotte
Official portrait, 2011
United States Senator
from New Hampshire
In office
January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2017
Preceded byJudd Gregg
Succeeded byMaggie Hassan
27th Attorney General of New Hampshire
In office
July 15, 2004 – July 17, 2009
Governor
Preceded byPeter Heed
Succeeded byMichael Delaney
Personal details
Born
Kelly Ann Ayotte

(1968-06-27) June 27, 1968 (age 55)
Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (2003–present)
Other political
affiliations
Independent (before 2003)[1]
Spouse
Joseph Daley
(m. 2001)
Children2
Education

Kelly Ann Ayotte (/ˈɒt/ AY-ott;[2] born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from New Hampshire from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Ayotte served as New Hampshire Attorney General from 2004 to 2009.

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, Ayotte is a graduate of Nashua High School, Pennsylvania State University and Villanova University School of Law. She worked as a law clerk for the New Hampshire Supreme Court before entering private practice. She served as a prosecutor for the New Hampshire Department of Justice, and briefly served as the legal counsel to New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson, before returning to the Department of Justice to serve as Deputy Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 2004, Governor Benson appointed Ayotte as Attorney General of New Hampshire following the resignation of Peter Heed. She became the first and only woman to serve as New Hampshire's Attorney General. She was twice reappointed by Democratic governor John Lynch. Ayotte resigned from her position as Attorney General in 2009 pursue a bid for the U.S. Senate, after three-term incumbent Judd Gregg announced his retirement from the Senate.

In September 2010, Ayotte won a close victory over lawyer Ovide M. Lamontagne in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. She then defeated Democratic congressman Paul Hodes in the general election with 60 percent of the vote. Ayotte was mentioned as a possible running mate for Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[3][4] In 2016, Ayotte was defeated in her bid for reelection by Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan by a very narrow margin of 1,017 votes (0.14 percent).[5] After President Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court, the administration chose Ayotte to lead the White House team escorting the nominee to meetings and hearings on Capitol Hill.[6]

She is a candidate for New Hampshire's 2024 gubernatorial election.[7]

  1. ^ David Axelrod (May 3, 2018). "The Axe Files with David Axelrod, "Episode 239 – Kelly Ayotte"" (Podcast). University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN. Event occurs at 15:30. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  2. ^ Bowers, Andy (November 30, 2005). "Plessy, Miranda, Roe, and Ayotte?". Slate. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Bendery, Jennifer (July 29, 2012). "Kelly Ayotte: 'It's An Honor To Be Mentioned' As Potential Mitt Romney VP (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  4. ^ Rogers, Josh (August 4, 2012). "Ayotte Would Add Youth, Conservatism As VP Choice". NPR. New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  5. ^ "2016 General Election Information and Results". New Hampshire Secretary of State Elections Division. November 8, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "Ayotte to lead White House team shepherding Supreme Court nominee". New Hampshire Union-Leader. January 31, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  7. ^ "Ayotte launches campaign for New Hampshire governor with broad base of GOP support". WMUR-TV. July 24, 2023.

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