Republican New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte won a second two-year term Tuesday, defying a national blue wave that swept many Democrats into many states' governors' mansions.
Ayotte beat Democrat Cinde Warmington 51 percent to 47 percent with 85 percent of the vote in, the Associated Press reported. This comes on a night Democrats flipped other governors' mansions across the country in states President Donald Trump carried in 2024 such as Ohio, Texas, Georgia and Iowa
Ayotte and Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott were the only two GOP governors on the ballot this year in states that former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in 2024, according to MultiState. The two neighboring New England states are the only states that vote for their governor every two years. (RELATED: Trump EPA Moves To Let New Hampshire Scrap Car Emissions Tests As Public Comments Close Friday)
I believe in our state and our people, and I'm proud of the work we've done together.
— Governor Kelly Ayotte (@KellyAyotte) November 2, 2026
But there's a lot more work to do. I ask for your vote tomorrow to keep New Hampshire safe, prosperous and free. pic.twitter.com/1EKkjYlknE
Warmington is a Concord lawyer who served on the state's Executive Council, according to NHPR. Ayotte is a former state attorney general and one-term U.S. senator. She first took office as governor in January 2025.
The race looked close in the final University of New Hampshire poll. Ayotte and Warmington each had 48 percent among 2,040 likely voters, counting those leaning toward a candidate, in the poll for WHDH taken Oct. 27-31. The poll had a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
Sabato's Crystal Ball pointed to that poll on Nov. 2 when it moved the race from Likely Republican to Leans Republican in its final ratings.
Other late polls had Ayotte ahead. She led 52 percent to 43 percent in an NPA Polling survey of 800 likely voters taken Oct. 25-29, which had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
Ayotte and Warmington both said that they want a pause on new data centers, NHPR reported. Ayotte has said that she plans to put one in the budget she proposes in February.
Warmington said that she would do it by executive order, which Ayotte said that a governor cannot lawfully do, according to NHPR.
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