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New Hampshire
With 2 women running, the New Hampshire governor's race is both close and personal
CONCORD, N.H. — One of the nation’s most competitive gubernatorial races has also become intensely personal.
None of the nation’s 12 female governors are up for reelection, but five women are running as major party gubernatorial nominees in four states. Two of them are in New Hampshire, where Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig are competing to succeed Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who is not seeking a fifth two-year term.
While voters and the candidates themselves say their gender is a nonissue in a state with a history of electing women to top offices, it has influenced their approaches to the topic of abortion and reproductive health care. Both candidates have produced television ads in which they describe having miscarriages after medical appointments during which no fetal heartbeats were detected.
“I know what that feeling is like when you have your dream shattered, and you think, ‘Wow, what if I can’t have a baby?’” says Ayotte, a former U.S. senator and state attorney general.
But while Ayotte’s ad focuses on affirming support for in vitro fertilization, Craig’s promises broader protections of reproductive rights.
“I was able to end my pregnancy without interference,” says Craig, the former mayor of Manchester. “I’m running for governor because these decisions belong to women, not politicians.”
In Indiana, where Democrat Jennifer McCormick is the only woman in the race, she has highlighted her gender as she criticizes her Republican gubernatorial opponent, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, for supporting their state’s near-total ban on abortion.
“I am the only person on this stage who’s been pregnant, I am the only person on this stage who’s given birth, and I am the only person on this stage who is a mom,” she said in a recent debate. “I understand firsthand the complexities associated with pregnancy. I trust women, and I trust health care providers.”
But the “trust women” slogan comes with an asterisk in New Hampshire, where Craig often highlights Ayotte’s support for a federal abortion ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy and her role shepherding Justice Neil Gorsuch through his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he joined in overturning Roe v. Wade.
“We can’t trust what she’s saying right now because she has shown where she is on the topic of reproductive freedom,” Craig said in an interview last week.
Ayotte insists she will veto any bill further restricting abortion in New Hampshire, where Republican majorities in 2021 made abortion illegal after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
“I’m not going to change our law,” Ayotte said. “She can say all kinds of things about it, but I think I’ve been pretty clear on what my position is.”
As for her trustworthiness, Ayotte emphasizes that New Hampshire voters sent her to the Senate and governors of both parties appointed her to be state attorney general before that.
“I’ve served this state,” she said. “I’ve served the people of New Hampshire.”
As a senator, Ayotte was part of the nation’s first all-female congressional delegation, just one of New Hampshire’s notable achievements in electing women. It also was the first state to have a female governor, state Senate president and House speaker at the same time, and the first to have a female majority in its Senate. In 2008, Jeanne Shaheen became the first woman in the country to have served both as governor and U.S. senator. Sen. Maggie Hassan became the second after defeating Ayotte in 2016.
That track record makes New Hampshire an outlier, said Linda Fowler, a professor emerita of government at Dartmouth College who has studied women in politics. She said research suggests voters have been more comfortable electing women as representatives because they view them as caring and good listeners, but they see governors as CEOs and believe the job demands a more masculine approach.
With no man in this race, Fowler says it will largely come down to turnout. Ayotte has skillfully tied Craig to crime, homelessness and other “big city” ills in Manchester, she said, but the abortion issue has Democrats energized up and down the ticket.
“This race is really going to be about mobilization, and whether abortion is going to outweigh people’s mistrust of our only big city,” Fowler said.
According to the Rutgers Center for American Women in Politics, 30 Democratic women and 19 Republican women have served as governor in 32 states, but never before have so many served at the same time. Even if the three other women — McCormick in Indiana, Crystal Quade in Missouri and Esther Charlestin in Vermont — fail, the New Hampshire race means a new record will be set of 13 women serving simultaneously as governor. And the number could grow with Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan poised to take the state’s top office if Gov. Tim Walz is elected vice president.
Despite the imminent record break, both Ayotte and Craig said their gender hasn’t come up on the campaign trail, and in a dozen or so interviews, voters told The Associated Press they’ve barely noticed that the race features two women.
Rachel Johnson, a Republican who ran into Ayotte at a highway rest area, said she doesn’t know much about the candidate but plans to vote for her.
“Whoever is best for the job,” she said. “Gender has nothing to do with it.”
Victoria Hill, an independent voter from Gorham, echoed that sentiment, though she is voting for Craig. After meeting the candidate in a guitar shop in Littleton, Hill praised Craig’s commitment to public education while criticizing Ayotte’s support for former President Donald Trump. Ayotte rescinded her support for Trump in 2016 over his lewd comments about women but says she now backs him again because his record in office was better than the Biden administration’s.
“That’s the problem I have — her just wavering with whichever way the wind is blowing,” Hill said.
___
Associated Press Writer Isabella Volmert contributed to this report.
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Local News
Brodie Perry and Jack Borowski carried the woman for two hours down to the base of the mountain.
Two members of the Mashpee Boy Scouts of America Troop 36 carried an injured woman down Mount Lafayette in New Hampshire over Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend.
Brodie Perry and Jack Borowski, both seniors at Mashpee Middle-High School, were leading the troop’s annual hike in the White Mountains when they came across the injured woman, they told Boston.com.
The two scouts asked the woman and her family members, who were trying to carry her down, if they needed any help to which they said no, Borowski said. The woman’s legs were shaking, and her family kept dropping her as daylight quickly ran out, they noticed.
The troop followed behind the family for a while, and ultimately Borowski and Perry offered to carry her down.
It took the two scouts two hours to carry the woman two miles to the base of the mountain, they said.
“If we were to just keep walking and go to the bottom, I don’t know if they would get down, or if they did get down, they would definitely be injured even more than they were,” Perry said.
Both Borowski and Perry value the skills they learned in the Boy Scouts.
“As you begin, you’re someone who listens to the leaders … but as you go, you slowly become the person who’s leading. It’s a really good natural way to go from someone who’s like beginning to someone who’s truly teaching the people around you,” Perry said.
“I’ve developed a lot as a person. You get a lot of experience in leadership and survival skills and helping other people,” Borowski continued. “It’s just really good program to help improve you as a person.”
Borowski is already an Eagle Scout, the highest Boy Scout rank, and Perry is set to be named an Eagle Scout in the next month or so.
After high school graduation, Borowski plans to enlist in the military, and Perry wants to study engineering at a four-year college.
New Hampshire
Teen Driver Accused Of Fleeing Trooper, Crashing Into A House: New Hampshire State Police Roundup
CONCORD, NH — A man from Concord was accused of driving 135 mph during another traffic enforcement initiative in New Hampshire, this time, on Interstate 93 in Bow on Sunday.
Logan Drew, 22, of Concord, was among 35 drivers stopped during the enforcement effort. According to state police, around 9:30 a.m., a sergeant in a state police aircraft saw a driver in a vehicle traveling south “at an extremely high rate of speed,” a report said. The trooper clocked the vehicle at up to 130 mph. Information was relayed to troopers on the ground, and Drew was pulled over, the report said. He was charged with reckless operation and operating after suspension charges. Drew is due in Concord District Court on Jan. 9, 2026.
During the enforcement, which lasted three hours, 40 violations were observed. Of those, 25 drivers were traveling at 90 mph or faster. Two of the drivers had suspended privileges.
Find out what’s happening in Concordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
State police said driving recklessly at 100 mph or more carries a minimum fine of $620 and a 60-day license suspension. After the first of the year, the fine increases to $930 and a 90-day loss of license.
Logan Drew was arrested on several charges on Nov. 23. Credit: NHSP
Find out what’s happening in Concordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Teen Accused Of Crashing Into Home, Fleeing Scene
A teen from Gilmanton was arrested last week on several charges after a chase in the Lakes Region.
Around 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 18, a trooper attempted to stop the driver of a 2013 Ford Taurus on Route 104 in Meredith for having tinted windows. The driver, Patrick Cameron Hamel, 19, of Gilmanton, was accused of refusing to stop, speeding, and illegally passing other vehicles. He then lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a home on Shoreline Drive in New Hampton.
Hamel was arrested and charged with reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, reckless operation, conduct after an accident, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal restraint, and disobeying a police officer. He was held on preventive detention and was due to appear in court on Nov. 19.
Troopers were assisted by New Hampton police and firefighters and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Trooper Nathan Cobis at nathan.f.cobis@dos.nh.gov.
Patrick Cameron Hamel was accused of fleeing state police and crashing into a home in New Hampton on Nov. 18. Credit: NHSP
Also Read
Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the New Hampshire State Police and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.
Troop A Blotter
11/01/2025 01:05, HAMPTON FALLS, HERNANDEZ PEREZ, JANCY Y. (23); BIDDEFORD, MAINE, 631:3 (RECKLESS CONDUCT-DEADLY WEAPON), 318-B:2,I (CNTRL DRUG: SCHED 1-4; POSSESSION), 265-A:3,I(C) (DUI AGGRVTD ATTEMPT TO ELUDE POLICE), 264:25 (CONDUCT AFTER ACCIDENT), 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT).
11/01/2025 09:37 SOMERSWORTH, MERCIER, EDWARD J. (49); SOMERSWORTH, 594:7 (ARREST ON WARRANT).
11/01/2025 11:57, EXETER, JACK, ADAM (35); NOTTINGHAM, 262:23 (OPERATE AFTER CERT AS HABITUAL OFFENDER).
11/01/2025 16:33, NORTH HAMPTON, BUEHLER, JOSEPH LEE (49); PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT).
11/02/2025 01:54, GREENLAND, DENELLE, OLIVER T. (26); NARRAGANSETT, RI, 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION), 631:3 (RECKLESS CONDUCT-DEADLY WEAPON), 642:2 (RESIST ARREST/DETENTION), 263:1,III (LICENSE REQD; OP W/O VALID LICENSE), 264:25 (CONDUCT AFTER ACCIDENT).
11/02/2025 09:03, HAMPTON, REYNOLDS, RYAN MARK (40); DIEPPE, NK 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION), 639:3,I (ENDANGERING WELFARE OF CHILD).
11/02/2025 10:55, HAMPTON FALLS, MCRAE, HEATHER JOYCE (61); SOMERSWORTH, 265:60 (SPEEDING 25+ MPH OVER 65 LIMIT), 261:178 (SUSPENSION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION), 263:64,VII (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUSPENSION).
11/02/2025 14:30, HAMPTON, BURR, THOMAS SPENCER (33); BARTLETT, 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT).
11/02/2025 17:12, NORTH HAMPTON, HOLT, DAVID FREDERICK (59); PELHAM, 594:7 (ARREST ON WARRANT).
11/02/2025 23:32, GREENLAND, ROBICHAUD, CASSIDY R. (24); AUGUSTA, ME, 270:29-B (RECKLESS OPERATION OF BOATS).
11/02/2025 23:34, NORTH HAMPTON, EUCEDA, JONATHAN JOSUE (25); MANCHESTER, 263:1-A (IMPROPER PERSON OPERATING VEHICLE), 261:178 (SUSPENSION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION).
11/02/2025 23:34 NORTH HAMPTON, MUNOZ BENITEZ, LENON I. (36); LONDONDERRY, 263:64,VII (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUSPENSION), 263:64,VI (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUS-SUBSQT).
10/27/2025 21:32, HAMPTON, DODIER, JACOB ANDREW (19); DOVER, 263:64,V-A(B) (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUS-ORIGINAL AND YOUTH), 263:63 (DRIVING WITHOUT GIVING PROOF), 265:25 (FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY), 263:12 (PROHIBITIONS RE: DRIVERS LICENSE).
10/28/2025 21:19, HAMPTON, ELBROLOSY, ABDELRAHMAN (28); QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION).
10/29/2025 00:26, EPPING, CARLETON, NICHOLAS J. (28); EPPING, 263:64,VII (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUSPENSION), 261:178 (SUSPENSION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION).
10/29/2025 03:08, EAST KINGSTON, TUITE, CAMERON JAMES (24); EAST KINGSTON, 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT), 265-A:2,I(B) (DUI; ADULT>.08; MINOR>.02), 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION), 634:2,II (CRIMINAL MISCHIEF), 644:2 (DISORDERLY CONDUCT).
10/29/2025 09:38, HAMPTON, RIVERA, JOSE LUIS (58); CAMBRIDGE, MA, 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION).
10/29/2025 16:13, NORTH HAMPTON, BOURNE, MELISSA D. (28); ELIOT, ME, 263:64,VII (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUSPENSION), 263:64,VI (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUS-SUBSQT), 261:40 (UNREGISTERED VEHICLE).
10/30/2025 19:30, ROCHESTER, HORTON, REBECCA CLAUDETTTE (30); ROCHESTER, 263:1,III (LICENSE REQD; OP W/O VALID LICENSE).
10/30/2025 21:00, DOVER, KEPFORD-SEKMEN, MARISSA SUE (32); SOMERSWORTH, 263:64,VI (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUS-SUBSQT), 263:64,VII (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUSPENSION), 265:109 (OPERATING WITHOUT LIGHTS).
10/31/2025 05:15, GREENLAND, DENGLER, NOAH J. (23); WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY, 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION).
10/31/2025 08:18, SEABROOK, BIANCUZZO, JOSEPH J. (54); HAVERHILL, MA, 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION).
10/31/2025 22:15, EXETER, MOULTON, KYLE ROBERT (24); RAYMOND, NH 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT).
10/31/2025 22:39, ROCHESTER, WILLARD, COLIN AVERY (26); S TAMWORTH, 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION).
10/31/2025 23:44, DOVER, MACIAS CARRIEL, ANGEL DANIEL (17); ALTON, NH 263:1,III (LICENSE REQD; OP W/O VALID LICENSE).
Troop B Blotter
10/30/2025 13:35, NASHUA, BALL, SHANE EDWARD (23); MANCHESTER, 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION), 265:79-B (NEGLIGENT DRIVING).
10/31/2025 10:04, NASHUA, JONES, CRYSTAL LEE (38); LOWELL, MA, 263:1,III (LICENSE REQD; OP W/O VALID LICENSE).
11/01/2025 01:00, MANCHESTER, DROUIN, DANIELLE (35); RINDGE, NH 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT), 265-A:2,I(B) (DUI; ADULT>.08; MINOR>.02).
11/01/2025 03:22, RAYMOND, MCCLAUGHRY-BERTELSEN, SAVANNAH LEIGH (18);
MANCHESTER, 631:3 (RECKLESS CONDUCT-DEADLY WEAPON), 265-A:3,III (DUI AGGRVTD 0.16+), 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT), 265:79 (RECKLESS OPERATION), 265-A:45 (TRANSPORT ALCOHOL OR MARIJUANA BY MINOR), 265-A:44 (OPEN CONTAINER ALCOHOL OR MARIJUANA).
11/01/2025 17:26, MANCHESTER, ERICKSON, THOMAS ALEXANDER (61); MANCHESTER, 262:23 (OPERATE AFTER CERT AS HABITUAL OFFENDER), 263:64,VI (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUS-SUBSQT), 263:63 (DRIVING WITHOUT GIVING PROOF), 263:64,VII (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUSPENSION), 265:22 (YELLOW/SOLID LINE VIOLATION).
11/02/2025 07:42 BEDFORD, SANTOS, JONATHAN A. (38); MANCHESTER, 594:7 (ARREST ON WARRANT).
Troop D Blotter
10/27/2025 10:46, BOW, MAYANGE, ABDULLAHI (30); BURLINGTON, VERMONT, 263:1,III (LICENSE REQD; OP W/O VALID LICENSE), 265:37-A (DUTY WHEN APPROACHING HIGHWAY EMERGENCY).
10/28/2025 19:08, CONTOOCOOK, WELCH, BRUCE (52); HOOKSETT, 261:178 (SUSPENSION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION), 263:64 (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUS).
10/28/2025 21:20, TILTON, KNOX, MEGAN N. (38); DANBURY, 594:7 (ARREST ON WARRANT).
10/29/2025 00:59, CONCORD, BUTLER, JAMIE L(43); ASHLAND, 594:7 (ARREST ON WARRANT).
10/29/2025 20:41, WARNER, ALLISON, JAMES MATTHEW (46); WARNER, 631:2-B,I(A) (DV; SIMPLE ASSAULT; BI OR PC).
10/30/2025 08:45, HOPKINTON, ZAREMBO, DOUGLAS SCOTT (33); WILMOT, 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT), 265:22 (YELLOW/SOLID LINE VIOLATION).
10/30/2025 16:49, CONCORD, RILEY, CAMERON JAMES (39); LACONIA, 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT), 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI 2ND; IMPAIRMENT), 264:25 (CONDUCT AFTER ACCIDENT), 634:2,II (CRIMINAL MISCHIEF), 318-B:2,I (CNTRL DRUG: SCHED 1-4; POSSESSION), 265-A:37,I (ALC INTERLOCK MV NOT EQUIPPED W/INTERLOCK).
10/31/2025 22:26, BOW, VIEU, MICHAEL R. (59); BOULDER, MONTANA, 159:3-A (HAND GUNS ARMED CAREER CRIMINAL), 159:3,I (FELON IN POSSESSION OF DANGEROUS WEAPON), 637:7 (RECV STOLEN PROP; $1501+).
11/01/2025 07:03, SUTTON, SHARIAN MAYANCHA, ANGEL ABRAHAM (41); BROCKTON, MA, 263:1,III (LICENSE REQD; OP W/O VALID LICENSE), 265:60 (SPEEDING 21-24 MPH OVER 65 LIMIT).
11/01/2025 23:54 BOW, SMITH, BOBBI ALEXANDRA (32); HILLSBOROUGH, 261:178 (SUSPENSION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION).
Other Arrests
11/04/2025 17:56, WALPOLE, SCULLY, BRANDY N. (29); KEENE, 265-A:3,I(D) (DUI AGGRVTD PASSENGER UNDER 16).
10/29/2025 19:45, OSSIPEE, RYDER, CODY E. (30); CTR OSSIPEE, 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT), 631:2-B,I(F) (DV; SEXUAL ASSAULT; CONTACT & FORCE), 631:2-B,I(A) (DV; SIMPLE ASSAULT; BI OR PC), 642:2 (RESIST ARREST/DETENTION), 642:1 (OBSTRUCT GOVT ADMINISTRATION).
11/16/2025 15:27, LYME, FENIELLO, MARIE A(65); RAMSEY, NJ, 644:8,III (CRUELTY TO ANIMALS; NEGLIGENT), 644:8,III (CRUELTY TO ANIMALS; NEGLIGENT).
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