Ayotte: NH Republican should resign

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is calling on House colleague Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) to resign over revelations that he illegally accepted more than $350,000 in illegal campaign donations from his parents.

“Congressman Guinta must make his own decision about whether to resign, but if I were in his position, that’s what I would do,” she said to The Hill in a statement on Monday.

Ayotte made a similar comment at a WMUR-9 event in New Hampshire on Monday morning.

{mosads}The Federal Election Commission found that Guinta did not properly report $355,000 in checks from his parents, money he later used to make a personal loan to his campaign.

Guinta told The Hill in a statement that he will continue to serve in Congress.

“I understand Senator Ayotte’s disappointment with this issue, I share in that frustration. I have been proactive in showing the documentation proving the assets in question were mine,” he said.

“I have apologized for the error on my part, made myself available for press inquiries and attended several events over the weekend. I will continue to meet with, listen to and serve Granite Staters of the First Congressional District.”

Guinta apologized for not reporting the loans in a statement on Sunday and argued that his parents’ names were only on the account because he had been a minor when it was opened.

“I made an error on the first financial disclosure report and the funds I loaned the campaign were mine,” he said.

Guinta reached an agreement with the FEC to return the money and pay a $15,000 fine; he has characterized that not as an admission of guilt but as a way to move on from the allegations that have dogged him since his first bid for Congress in 2010.

Some state Republicans have begun brainstorming replacements for Guinta in 2016, according to The Boston Globe.

The conservative-leaning New Hampshire Union Leader bashed him in an editorial last week that only included a quote from its publisher calling Guinta a “damned liar.”

Ayotte previously called the charges “serious and troubling” during an interview with WMUR.

—This report was updated at 2:52 p.m.