One of the two Republicans running for governor in New Hampshire sought to use the news of former president Donald Trump’s conviction Thursday as an opportunity to differentiate himself from his GOP rival.
Chuck Morse’s campaign promptly released a statement denouncing the guilty verdict as a symptom of corruption. The statement also called Morse the “sole New Hampshire gubernatorial candidate to have endorsed” Trump in the 2024 race.
“This weaponization of justice to target a political opponent is an affront to American values and will only embolden President Trump’s supporters, rallying millions of voters to his side,” he said, claiming President Biden had manipulated the system “for electoral gain.”
Morse, a former New Hampshire Senate president, is up against former US senator Kelly Ayotte in the Republican primary. While Morse has aligned his candidacy with the former president, endorsing Trump at a campaign rally in December, Ayotte has taken a more measured approach, saying she would support whoever wins the GOP presidential nomination.
Ayotte confirmed in March that she’ll support Trump, the party’s presumptive 2024 nominee, despite having withdrawn her 2016 endorsement over the “Access Hollywood” tape. (“I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women,” she said at the time.)
Unlike many other political candidates, Ayotte did not immediately share a statement about Trump’s conviction on social media, nor did spokespeople for her campaign respond to The Boston Globe’s request for comment. But she released a statement Thursday evening to the New Hampshire Journal.
“Today’s verdict is disappointing, and I don’t believe our justice system should be politicized,” she said. “Our country is on the wrong track with Joe Biden in the White House, and that’s why I’m supporting Donald Trump.”
The two leading Democratic gubernatorial candidates singled out Ayotte for criticism. Joyce Craig, the former mayor of Manchester, said Ayotte lacks “the spine” needed to stand up to Trump and “the dangerous extremists in her party.” Cinde Warmington, the lone Democratic executive councilor, said New Hampshire needs a governor “who has the backbone to stand up to the likes of Trump and Ayotte.”
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Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.