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New Hampshire

NH’s Ayotte vs. Craig is closest governor’s race in US.: Experts explain why it matters

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NH’s Ayotte vs. Craig is closest governor’s race in US.: Experts explain why it matters


DURHAM — The New Hampshire governor’s race is now the most competitive gubernatorial contest in the country, experts say, and this may be an asset to both Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig.

Earlier this year, North Carolina and New Hampshire were seen as the top two competitive elections in the United States. But after a CNN report linked Republican North Carolina governor candidate Mark Robinson to multiple disturbing comments on a pornographic website, prompting most of his staff to resign, the formerly toss-up race has been moved to a likely Democratic victory, according to the Cook Political Report. 

New Hampshire is now the only state gubernatorial race ranked a toss-up. According to recent polls from University of New Hampshire and Saint Anselm, the two candidates running for the office being vacated by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu are neck and neck.

The shake-up in the Tar Heel state may have opened up national funds that can help both Ayotte and Craig in New Hampshire. The Republican Governors Association current ad buy in North Carolina expired Tuesday, and multiple outlets reported the group has not planned any other placements.

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“(Ayotte) will get help from the Republicans … because there really isn’t that much to invest in,” said UNH political science professor Dante Scala. “I mean, you look at North Carolina, maybe three, six months ago, that looked like a competitive race, but especially after last week, (it) sure doesn’t look that way anymore.”

The recent events may also free up more money from the Democratic Governors Association to help Craig in New Hampshire.

The first campaign finance filing deadline for the general election is Oct. 16.

Andrew Smith, the director of the UNH Survey Center, agreed the Republican Governors Association is likely not going to “want to bother” spending money on the North Carolina race anymore. However, Smith also wonders how independent the organization is from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

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“I think the Trump people are going to want to take as much money as they can from any of the campaign organizations and use it on the presidential campaign,” he said. 

Money is just part of the puzzle in this tight race: Each candidate has multiple strengths and weaknesses that will contribute to how they perform in November.

How the presidential election may affect the NH governor’s race

The “Trump factor”’ is a weakness for Ayotte in New Hampshire, where polls have shown the former president losing to Vice President Kamala Harris by as much as 11%.

To win, Ayotte will to convince voters to split their tickets and run ahead of Trump by about 5-7%, according to Scala, who said that is difficult for a non-incumbent. Even Sununu, who benefited from a name that runs deep in New Hampshire tradition, barely won during his first campaign for governor in 2016, running just enough ahead of Trump to win the open seat. 

Ayotte’s rocky relationship with Trump may also play a negative role within her own party. The Republican Party in New Hampshire has many different factions, from Trump Republicans to free state libertarians to more mainstream traditional Republicans like Ayotte. There may be some voters who don’t like her because she isn’t close enough with Trump, while others may not want to vote for her to show their disdain for him. 

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However, a plus for Ayotte is Trump isn’t likely focus on New Hampshire as the presidential race no longer appears to be close in the state, meaning Ayotte can continue to keep her distance.

“Donald Trump is an anchor on all Republicans in the state. He’s not going to help them spread their message beyond that MAGA base, and could potentially hurt them if they get closely tied to Trump in the flow of the campaign,” Smith said. “So that split-ticket bogey is really going to be the key thing for her to be able to do to try to distinguish herself from Donald Trump without alienating those Republican Trump voters.”

While the Republican base is not as strongly in support of Ayotte as the Democratic base is for Craig currently, the polls revealed Ayotte appears to be more appealing to swing or independent voters, Scala said. That’s a positive sign for collecting the split ticket voters Ayotte needs. There’s also the possibility the full Republican base will coalesce around Ayotte as the election gets closer. 

“If she’s going to pull it out, she’s going to have to really kind of channel her inner Sununu,” Smith said.

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Conversely, Harris at the top of the ticket is a plus for Craig, whose positive polling numbers may be in part thanks to the vice president’s popularity in New Hampshire. The Democratic Party in New Hampshire has united around Harris, and by extension, Craig. Because of that, she might even be successful with a “generic Democratic campaign,” said Scala.

The NHDP has also tended to be better at getting voters out to the polls, Smith said. They have more money and organization than the Republican Party in New Hampshire, largely because of divides in the NHGOP like the Tea Party in the 2010s and Trump now.

How name recognition can be a boon – but other times a curse

One of Ayotte’s main strengths throughout this election has been her name ID. A former U.S. senator and New Hampshire attorney general, her strong name recognition was partially responsible for her dominant primary win over former state Senate President Chuck Morse. The experience of running those two statewide campaigns is also a strength for her in this election.

But her strong name ID may also be contributing to her negative favorability ratings: -5% according to the Saint Anselm poll and -17% according to UNH. 

Craig, a former Manchester mayor, on the other hand, is less well known. But this can also be a strength as she hasn’t been caught up in as many “cross-party wars” as Ayotte, said Smith. Her favorability numbers are also positive — although Smith thinks that might change as the race gets closer and negative advertising ramps up.

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The battle lines: Abortion and the city of Manchester

Craig’s biggest weakness, “fair or unfair,” Smith said, is the way Manchester is perceived to have been governed under her. 

“You can see this has already been played out back in November last year,” said Smith, referring to last year’s mayoral race, when Republican Jay Ruais won over Craig’s endorsed successor. “That’s a harder problem for her to overcome, because that’s a policy issue. It’s not a personal issue.”

During the primary, Craig faced attacks about Manchester’s homelessness and drug issues from both sides of the aisle.

Craig will also have to address questions on taxes, crime, and immigration, all tried and true attacks Republicans use against Democrats.

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Ayotte’s weakest issue is abortion, a consistent topic used by Democrats across the country. Both sides have put in a lot of effort trying to inform voters about how the governor’s race would affect abortion policy in New Hampshire: Ayotte even put out an ad saying she would not change New Hampshire’s current 24-week abortion law.

“It is something on which her voting history is to the right of what I would say is your average New Hampshire voter,” Scala said. As a senator, Ayotte supported a 20-week abortion ban as well as the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

More: Craig would give NH education chief Frank Edelblut the boot. Ayotte backs his policies.

The question for Scala, though, is if Democrats will open another line of attack against Ayotte.

“Abortion is a problem for Ayotte, but Democrats have already spent a lot of money going after Ayotte on abortion,” Scala said. “How much more is there to get out of that issue? And I think that’s a fair question.”

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New Hampshire

After The Snow, A Deep Freeze Is Expected Across New Hampshire

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After The Snow, A Deep Freeze Is Expected Across New Hampshire


CONCORD, NH — Wind gusts and frigid temperatures are expected across New Hampshire this week after Sunday’s snowstorm moves out of the region on Monday morning.

On Monday, forecasters at the National Weather Service are calling for partly sunny skies in the morning with temperatures in the lower 20s. However, winds of up to 10 to 15 mph and gusts as high as 25 mph will make it feel as if it is as low as zero degrees outside. Overnight lows will be in the lower single digits.

Similar weather is expected on Tuesday, with sunny skies, highs in the teens, and wind gusts of up to 20 mph. Overnight lows will drop into the negative — as low as -2 degrees.

Wednesday is expected to be a carbon copy of Tuesday weatherwise.

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Partly sunny skies are expected on Thursday, with highs in the 20s and overnight lows in the lower single digits.

Forecasters are calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 20s to lower 30s on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

State Issues Warning

On Sunday afternoon, the New Hampshire Department of Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) urged residents and visitors to take action and prepare for extreme cold starting Monday night.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Gray, Maine, says arctic air will be the coldest to hit the region since January 2022. During overnight hours from Monday until Thursday, temperatures could feel like double digits below zero. During this time, residents and visitors should use caution during outdoor activities.

“As extreme cold temperatures move into our state tomorrow, I urge Granite Staters to stay inside whenever possible and take steps to keep themselves, their families, and their pets safe and warm,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte said. “Thank you to all of our emergency management personnel, first responders, and road crews who are working around-the-clock to keep our state safe.”

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Frostbite is possible within 15 minutes when wind chill values are near minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit. At minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, hypothermia can occur in about 10 minutes.

“Stay safe by limiting your time outdoors during the extreme cold,” HSEM Director Robert Buxton said. “If you have to travel, make sure your vehicle’s emergency kit is stocked. Check on your neighbors and those who may be more vulnerable to the cold.”

Individuals and families in need of temporary shelter to keep warm are encouraged to contact 211 to locate the closest site that is open and available to them.

Local communities are encouraged to share temporary shelter and warming locations with state officials through WebEOC so the most up-to-date local information may be provided to 2-1-1 callers.

Buxton makes the following safety recommendations:

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  • Stay informed by signing up for NH Alerts and monitoring National Weather Service radio or broadcast weather reports.
  • Stay indoors and limit travel as much as possible. If travel is necessary, prepare a winter emergency kit with warm clothes, boots, blankets, flashlights, extra batteries, food and water.
  • Wear several layers of loose-fitting clothing when outdoors, including hat, scarf and gloves.
  • If clothing becomes wet, remove it immediately.
  • Protect people at high-risk by providing warm clothes and blankets and return indoors when shivering.
  • Do not use a gas range or oven as an alternate source of heat.
  • Plug space heaters directly into an outlet, not a power strip.

Learn more about safety during extremely cold temperatures at ReadyNH.gov.

The most up-to-date weather is available on every Patch.com site in the United States. This includes the 14 New Hampshire Patch news and community websites for Amherst, Bedford, Concord, Exeter, Hampton, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack, Milford, Nashua, North Hampton, Portsmouth, Salem, Windham, and Across NH. Patch posts local weather reports for New Hampshire every Sunday and Wednesday and publishes alerts as needed.

Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.



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Robert Eggers says ‘Nosferatu’ horror movie inspiration traces to his Lee, NH school

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Robert Eggers says ‘Nosferatu’ horror movie inspiration traces to his Lee, NH school


Robert Eggers got his first inspiration for the current hit movie “Nosferatu” as a child attending Mast Way Elementary School in Lee, New Hampshire.

The school is where Eggers, now 41, first saw an image of Max Schrek as Count Orlok from F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” on a book cover. This sparked his love of the horror genre.

“I thought it was like the coolest thing ever. With the help of my mom, and this is before the time of Amazon and YouTube, we went to the Fox Run Mall, which had the closest video store to Lee, and we had to order a VHS, which came in the mail about a month later,” Eggers said. “And that VHS was really inspiring.”

Eggers, writer and director of “Nosferatu,” the film starring Bill Skarsgard and Lily-Rose Depp has been 10 years in the making. There were three previous attempts to film and produce it before they pulled it off, he said.

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Filming began in 2015 but was called off for a number of reasons, Eggers said. He had just finished post-production of “The Northman,” and needed a break. He said he’s glad “Nosferatu” came out when it did, released on Christmas Day in U.S. theaters last month, as he’s evolved over the years as a filmmaker and person.

“(It’s) become a collective vision” over the years, he said, and “we’ve done a better job of articulating what’s in our imagination and getting in onto the screen.”

Eggers attributes success to Seacoast

Eggers attributes much of his success as a filmmaker to mentors dung his time growing up in New Hampshire’s Seacoast region. Eggers attended Oyster River schools in Durham, naturally stepping into acting as his mom, Kelly, a dancer and actress, started the Oyster River Players theater company.

During his senior year of high school, Eggers co-directed a play version of “Nosferatu” with his friend, Ashley Kelley Tata, who is now a theater and opera director in New York. He had done some acting at the old Edwin Booth Theater in Dover and had invited founder Edward Langlois to the high school production. After Langlois had seen the play, he invited them to create a more professional version of “Nosferatu” at the Edwin Booth Theater.

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“(It) was very thrilling, and it cemented the fact that I wanted to be a director, and also made ‘Nosferatu’ permanently, like a big part of who I am. New Hampshire roots are large for me, for sure,” said Eggers.

Eggers also credits inspiration he received from the late Hyman Bloom, a painter from Nashua. He said as of this week he had put one of Bloom’s drawings in his “look book” for a future film project. He did not specify what the film is, but Eggers said he would like to expand beyond the horror genre. He noted “The Northman” was not a horror movie, but to tell complex, personal stories, he has often used the horror genre.

“Nosferatu” in 2024 compared to 1922

Eggers’ version of “Nosferatu” is similar to the overall plot of the original 1922 Nosferatu, but with some minor tweaks, he said. Set in the 1830s, the plot follows newlywed couple Ellen and Thomas Hutter, Thomas, played by Nicholas Hoult, and Ellen played by Depp, as Thomas journeys to the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania by request of his employer to sell a new client real estate. The new client is ominous Count Orlok, played by Skarsgård, who traps Thomas in his castle and proceeds to suck his blood.

A tweak from the original while preserving the history of the film but making it more visually appealing with modern cinematography is the journey of the ship bringing the plague to Wisburg, Germany, where the film is set. The original screenplay by Henrik Galeen, depicts a “dead schooner” slowly and creepily coming into Wisburg, said Eggers. “But when I read Henrik Galeen’s screenplay, he envisioned a very chaotic storm that would bring the ship into town in a more, climactic, operatic way. Because of modern technologies and budgets, we were able to do that. It was cool to actualize the screenwriter’s original intent.”

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An obvious change is Eggers’ “Nosferatu” has dialogue, while F.W. Murnau’s original version was a silent film. Count Orlok is disguised to be a Transylvanian nobleman, and instead of speaking Hungarian, he speaks Dacian, “a very ancient language of the region,” said Eggers. The Dacians were ancestors of the ethnic Romanians, said Eggers, and since Orlok is casting spells and “studying ancient magic,” it was only fitting that he spoke an ancient language, Eggers said.

Referring to how the movie ends, Eggers said, “I think that’s for each and every audience member to decide for themselves. But was it a sacrifice? You know, yes, but is there also some fulfillment there? As dark and twisted as it may be, like yes. Is it also revenge? I think there’s intended to be a lot going on. So, whatever speaks to you works for me.”

Eggers previously wrote and directed “The Lighthouse” with his brother Max, which was nominated for an Oscar in for the Best Achievement in Cinematography in the 92nd Academy Awards 2020. Released in 2015, Eggers also directed and wrote the horror film “The Witch: A New-England Folktale.” Oscar nominations this year will be announced Jan. 23.

Previous reporting by Jane Murphy was used in this report.



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Collaboration over division: Addressing New Hampshire’s misguided criticism of Lowell 

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Collaboration over division: Addressing New Hampshire’s misguided criticism of Lowell 


As Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts, I find it deeply disappointing that Governor Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire chose to single out Lowell and Lawrence in her recent tweet about drug trafficking. Rather than fostering the collaboration and shared responsibility necessary to address regional challenges, the governor has instead opted to unfairly target our communities while turning a blind eye to her state’s own issues. Let’s be clear: drug trafficking is a national and regional problem, not one confined to specific cities or states, and no community is immune. New Hampshire, it’s time to look in the mirror.

Lowell is a city that has long been a beacon of innovation, resilience, and progress. We are home to world-class universities like UMass Lowell, a thriving arts and cultural scene, cutting-edge technology companies, and a diverse and hardworking community. Our schools are preparing the next generation of leaders, and our local businesses are driving economic growth. From our revitalized downtown to our nationally recognized parks and waterways, Lowell has been steadily building a bright future for all its residents. To suggest that our city is defined by the actions of a few bad actors is both ignorant and disrespectful.

Furthermore, let me take a moment to recognize the incredible progress and vitality of our neighbors in Lawrence. The City of Lawrence is rich in culture, history, and community spirit. Its residents have demonstrated remarkable strength and innovation, contributing meaningfully to the Merrimack Valley and beyond. The truth is, both Lowell and Lawrence are communities full of promise, and they deserve to be uplifted, not disparaged.

What’s even more troubling about Governor Ayotte’s remarks is the glaring omission of accountability for New Hampshire’s own challenges. It is no secret that Manchester has become a hub for drug activity, drawing individuals from Vermont, northern New Hampshire, and even parts of Maine. Pointing fingers at other cities without acknowledging the trafficking issues in your own backyard is not only hypocritical but counterproductive.

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Rather than casting blame, we should be working together across state lines to combat the opioid crisis and support those who need help. Regional collaboration, shared resources, and compassionate policies are the only ways we can truly address this crisis. Scapegoating neighboring cities like Lowell and Lawrence does nothing to move us forward.

Lowell’s success is built on community, collaboration, and a commitment to progress. We will not allow one misguided comment to tarnish our reputation or detract from the incredible work being done here. I invite Governor Ayotte to visit Lowell and see firsthand the innovation, diversity, and vibrancy of our city. Perhaps then she will understand that we are not a problem to be feared but a partner to be embraced.

In the meantime, I encourage New Hampshire to focus on its own challenges and work with its neighbors to find real solutions. Divisive rhetoric will not solve the opioid crisis—only unity and collaboration will.

This editorial is in response to the following tweet from Governor Kelly Ayotte: “It’s time for drug dealers from Lowell and Lawrence to be afraid of trafficking their poison into our state. New Hampshire law enforcement will find you, stop you, and lock you up.”

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