NH Dems take aim at Ayotte day after Senate primary

by Lisa Hagen - 09/14/16 10:29 AM ET

The New Hampshire Democratic Party launched a new website accusing Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) of putting special interests before constituents as the state’s Senate race officially kicked off on Wednesday.

{mosads}The party unveiled the website KStreetKellyAyotte.com, which was shared first with The Hill. It seeks to link Ayotte, who faces a tough reelection bid, to Wall Street, the gun lobby, and the oil and pharmaceutical industries, which have donated to her campaign.

The website also highlights that the network helmed by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch has contributed to Ayotte’s campaign. The Democrats also launched a Twitter handle, @KStreetKelly.

“Kelly Ayotte’s corporate special interest backers on K Street are spending millions of dollars to support Ayotte because she consistently votes in Washington to put their agenda ahead of New Hampshire families and small businesses,” state party chairman Raymond Buckley said in a statement.

“From voting with the Koch Brothers nearly 90% of the time in her first four years in office to protecting tax breaks for big oil and blocking common sense gun safety efforts, Kelly Ayotte has repeatedly prioritized her special interest backers on K Street over the people of New Hampshire.”

Ayotte’s campaign pushed back on the site and targeted her Senate opponent, Gov. Maggie Hassan (D), for benefiting from “dark money special interest groups in Washington.”

“This latest desperate attack is laughable and highly ironic given that Gov. Hassan is relying so heavily on dark money special interest groups in Washington to flood the airwaves with negative attack ads on her behalf,” Ayotte spokeswoman Liz Johnson said.

Ayotte easily cruised to victory in Tuesday’s primary election against former state Sen. Jim Rubens. The Republican senator largely overlooked her primary challenge and has sparred with her Hassan throughout the past year.

The general election campaign officially begins Wednesday as Ayotte and Hassan vie for a seat that could determine which party controls the Senate next year.

Ayotte has a slim 2-point edge in the race, according to the most recent RealClearPolitics polling average. Hassan opened up a lead in polling in August, but recent surveys show the GOP senator surging ahead.

Tags Kelly Ayotte