3 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
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3 candidates · ballot order · Kelly Ayotte currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
To 'tackle the affordability crisis' in housing, health care and child care.
To 'stand up to Donald Trump' when federal actions cut funding to New Hampshire.
Repealing New Hampshire's ban on abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Ending the Education Freedom Account voucher program: 'taxpayer dollars should go to public schools.'
Removing zoning barriers to housing, and expanding renewable energy including solar.
Universal background checks, gun-free school zones and extreme risk protection orders; legalizing and regulating marijuana.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Executive Councilor for District 2, 2021–2025, the council's only Democrat; opposed the council's votes to cancel and deny contracts with Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
Lost the 2024 Democratic primary for governor to Joyce Craig.
Hired by Purdue Pharma in 2001 to oppose a requirement that would have made OxyContin harder to prescribe; later the lawyer for the PainCare pain clinic chain, including during 2013–2014, when a PainCare physician assistant took kickbacks for prescribing fentanyl.
Formerly a partner at the Shaheen & Gordon law firm.
Unopposed in the 8 September 2026 Democratic primary.
Arguments in favor
Families are 'struggling with high costs in every aspect of their lives,' and as governor she 'will fight for the people of New Hampshire and stand up to President Trump when he takes actions that hurt our state.'
— Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Reps. Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander, in a joint endorsement
She will protect and defend reproductive health and rights, as she did as the lone vote against cutting off Planned Parenthood contracts on the Executive Council.
— Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund PAC
Arguments against
She is an 'opioid lobbyist' unfit to serve: she worked for Purdue Pharma and called OxyContin a 'miracle drug' that had been 'abused' in media coverage.
— Kelly Ayotte's campaign
She 'must answer for' her work for PainCare, a major opioid prescriber whose owner, Dr. Michael O'Connell, was a political donor to her and whose physician assistant went to prison for fentanyl kickbacks while she was the clinic's lawyer.
— Kelly Ayotte's campaign, drawing on facts reported by NHPR
What we couldn’t verify
She says she was misled by Purdue and was representing a client at PainCare; how voters weigh this was the open question NHPR identified in the race.
Her position on state tax changes has not been laid out in detail.
Never allowing an income or sales tax in New Hampshire.
Building more workforce housing by streamlining permitting and cutting red tape, building on housing legislation she signed.
Tough-on-crime policy, including the bail law changes of her first term.
Keeping Education Freedom Accounts so 'every child should have the same learning opportunities... regardless of their zip code or family income.'
Keeping current abortion law, which allows abortion up to 24 weeks with exceptions for medical emergencies.
Opposing marijuana legalization.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Governor of New Hampshire since January 2025; New Hampshire attorney general 2004–2009; U.S. senator 2011–2017.
Pushed the Legislature to roll back a bail reform law she considered too lenient on pre-trial defendants.
Signed a bell-to-bell public school cellphone ban and tougher penalties for drivers who refuse a breath test.
Implemented premiums for some Medicaid enrollees, raised their copays, and signed a budget with major cuts to agencies including the Office of the Child Advocate and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Vetoed a bill that would have allowed sex-based separation in certain spaces.
Won the 8 September 2026 Republican primary with about 92% of the vote; 49% approval in UNH's August 2026 Granite State Poll.
Arguments in favor
She is a former attorney general who has leaned into public safety as governor, and she has kept New Hampshire free of an income or sales tax while tackling the housing crisis and strengthening schools.
— Kelly Ayotte's campaign
She has shown a willingness to challenge her own party and use her veto, keeping the state on the independent 'Sununu path' that she promised in 2024.
— Ayotte's campaign, as summarised by NHPR and Citizens Count
Arguments against
Her Medicaid premiums and the budget cuts she signed hurt vulnerable families, and she bears responsibility for the ongoing abuse and neglect scandal at the Sununu Youth Services Center.
— Cinde Warmington
She will not 'stand up to' President Trump, by speaking out or joining lawsuits, when his administration revokes federal funding from New Hampshire.
— Cinde Warmington and Democratic allies, as reported by the New Hampshire Bulletin
What we couldn’t verify
Her specific second-term plans beyond housing and public safety have not been published in detail.
Whether the state will resolve the management problems at the youth detention center that Democrats cite was unclear when this was written.
Opposing an income tax; lowering business taxes only with a matching cut in state spending.
'In the long term, I want to reduce or eliminate both public school funding and Education Freedom Accounts.'
Legalizing marijuana, and opposing stricter gun laws.
Removing zoning barriers to housing and building nuclear power, including small modular reactors.
Requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Libertarian candidate for governor in 2024, receiving 2.0% of the vote (16,202 votes).
Former treasurer of the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance and of the Free State Project.
Qualified for the 2026 ballot with 1,653 valid signatures from the 1st Congressional District and 1,736 from the 2nd, against 1,500 required from each.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No independent reporting arguing for or against his candidacy was found, so neither argument column is filled.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
New Hampshire elects its governor every two years. The state primary was held on 8 September 2026. Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, elected in 2024, won renomination with about 92% of the vote over Shaun Fife and Robert Wayne McClory. Former Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Three names are on the November ballot, per the Secretary of State's general election candidate list as reported by Citizens Count and Ballot Access News: Ayotte, Warmington, and Stephen Villee, a Libertarian who qualified by petition with valid signatures from both congressional districts. If he receives at least 4% of the vote, the Libertarian Party regains official party status in New Hampshire.
On New Hampshire's general election ballot the party columns rotate by state Senate district, so whether the Democrat or the Republican is listed first depends on where you vote. Candidates nominated by petition appear after the party columns. The order below follows the Secretary of State's list.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A New Hampshire ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at New Hampshire Secretary of State.