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    • Ayotte, Craig debate Trump, abortion, border: 5 takeaways
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    Ayotte, Craig debate Trump, abortion, border: 5 takeaways

    Online Niel Posted on

    MANCHESTER — The subject of former President Donald Trump sparked one of the New Hampshire governor’s most heated moments. debate between Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig on WMUR Wednesday night.

    Ayotte, a former U.S. senator, and Craig, a former mayor of Manchester, faced questions from WMUR’s Adam Sexton, Steve Bottari and Arielle Mitropoulos on topics such as abortion, immigrants and gun laws, creating some contentious moments .

    The debate took place hours after the release of a Saint Anselm’s survey showed Ayotte maintaining a 3 point lead over Craig. Race, that is the most competitive gubernatorial race in the country, it remains tight.

    Here are five takeaways from the debate:

    Trump remains a difficult subject for Ayotte

    Midway through the debate, Bottari asked Ayotte about Trump’s 34 felony convictions.

    “Your support for Trump this cycle has been unwavering,” he said. “As a former prosecutor and former attorney general, his criminal convictions just don’t matter to you?”

    Bottari asked the question three times as Ayotte avoided answering directly. Instead, she asked viewers to consider whether they were better off under the Trump administration or the Biden administration.

    “It’s not that, Steve, it’s just that this is the choice we have in this election. And I certainly think the country was better off just in terms of cost, what we were paying and safety when he was in office,” she said.

    Trump was a problem for Ayotte throughout the campaign and in past elections. In 2016, Ayotte withdrew her support for Trump after the “Access Hollywood” tape was released showing him making sexually aggressive and rude comments toward women. He then lost his Senate seat to Democrat Maggie Hassan.

    In 2024, Ayotte endorsed Trump but did not make him a central part of her campaign, avoiding a full embrace of him.

    Craig made sure to attack Ayotte for this tactic.

    “Where do you draw the line, Kelly, with Donald Trump? Is it when he sexually assaults women? Is it when he brags about Hitler? Is it when they try to overthrow democracy?” Craig said. “Because last time, you didn’t support him when he was believed to be sexually assaulting women, but now it turns out he does and you support him.”

    Ayotte fired back by saying that while she has a record of bipartisanship, Craig would “never stand up” to her party and criticized her for campaigning with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.

    The abortion debate remains controversial

    The topic of abortion occupied the first part of the debate and returned several times later.

    As in previous debates this fall, the candidates fought hard. Craig said voters could not trust Ayotte because of her past support for abortion restrictions, and Ayotte responded that she supports New Hampshire’s current 24-week abortion law and would not change it.

    “What’s wrong with codifying abortion rights?” Craig asked in one of the most difficult moments of the debate.

    “We code because we have six months in this state,” Ayotte replied.

    But the presenters also asked the candidates specific questions that went beyond the surface-level arguments the candidates often used against each other.

    To Craig, they asked whether a viable fetus should have some protections under the law.

    “I trust that women will make their own health care decisions, and those decisions should be between a woman and her doctor,” Craig said.

    They asked Ayotte what she would do if a federal abortion ban were passed that went further than New Hampshire’s law.

    “If Washington passes a law that addresses abortion, I will fight for the law in New Hampshire,” she said. “This issue has been returned to the states and I will fight with everything I have to defend New Hampshire’s right to decide this issue and protect our law.”

    Both asked the candidates if they believed life begins at conception. None of them gave a concrete answer.

    According to the most recent Saint Anselm poll, abortion is the fourth most important issue to Granite State voters, behind the economy, elections/democracy and immigration. However, it has been a major issue in the gubernatorial election, with both candidates releasing multiple announcements on the topic.

    Both candidates agree: Biden won the 2020 election

    The question of whether President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election served as a litmus test in recent months for Republican politicians. Some, like Trump’s managing partner JD Vancethey refused to say Trump lost.

    At the WMUR debate, both candidates said without hesitation that Biden won that election.

    Migrants: Ayotte doubles support for northern border control resources

    In the first seven months of the task force patrolling New Hampshire’s northern border, data showed task force members made a total of 16 arrests for things like DUI and driving with a suspended license. Customs and Border Protection made seven reports of suspicious activity.

    Ayotte said the resources sent to the northern border are “essential to protecting New Hampshire.”

    She said she was at the northern border a day earlier and spoke with a member of the Border Patrol.

    “I asked him about these patrols and how useful they were to me. He said they were very helpful because there is discouragement,” she said. “They think it’s valuable and I have a lot of faith in the people on the ground in the North Country who work on this issue every day.”

    The Portsmouth gun scare is mentioned

    Asked about gun law policies, Craig mentioned the unofficial lockdown of three schools in the city of Portsmouth on Tuesday after a bullet was found on a Portsmouth public school bus.

    “As I travel across our state, I hear from parents who are concerned about the safety of their children when they are at school,” she said. “So we put forward a comprehensive, common-sense plan to address gun violence in New Hampshire. It includes things like universal background checks, red flag laws and preventing guns from being brought into schools.”

    Ayotte said she wants to enforce some gun laws, with a particular focus on mental health.

    “As a former prosecutor, I want to make sure criminals don’t have guns,” Ayotte said. “I’ve supported efforts to get our gun laws in the United States Senate and also to strengthen the mental health side, which I think we need to continue to do here in New Hampshire when it comes to background checks .”

    The election takes place on Tuesday, November 5.

    More: 5 takeaways from the tense NH gubernatorial debate between Craig and Ayotte NH in Manchester

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