Kelly Ayotte is already gearing up for her next political fight.
The popular New Hampshire Republican senator is already being forced to guard her position in the swing state before the 2016 elections, because historically, New Hampshire already tends to vote Democrat during election years.
Republicans across the state and even Chris Christie, New Jersey governor and potential presidential candidate, are circling the wagons around Kelly Ayotte as she gets ready to defend her seat in a race that hasn’t even been intiated yet.
Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan is said to have eyes for Kelly Ayotte’s Senate seat, but hasn’t even announced that she will be running against Ayotte.
However, Republicans see her as a big enough threat that they are already starting the attempt to discredit Hassan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dAq0IFAUUU
“There’s been constant quiet talk about it in Concord from the first day she became governor, at the beginning of her first term,” said Jennifer Horn, the state GOP chairwoman. “It’s the worst-kept secret in political circles that Governor Hassan would like to be Senator Hassan.”
Earlier this month, Kelly Ayotte’s office made a right-to-know request for Governor Hassan’s out-of-state travel records. They say she loses power and control when she travels out of her state’s borders.
They hope to show with her travel records that she has only used her job as Governor as a step up to bigger things.
Chris Christie took a jab on behalf of Kelly Ayotte recently, saying, “[Hassan] will use this platform as a way to increase her own visibility and run for the next job. Let’s be careful. We’ve got enough of those types in Washington, D.C., already. We don’t need you to send any more there.”
Meanwhile, Kelly Ayotte is also carrying on with political business as usual. Earlier this month, she expressed concern over President Obama’s hesitation to take a stand against ISIS and terrorism in general.
Kelly Ayotte told Chris Matthews, “I think they [President Obama and John Kerry] should spend less time on being worried about being politically correct, about how we define our enemies, and more time on a strategy to defeat them.”
What do you think? Is Kelly Ayotte over-reacting too early to a possible threat in her swing state? Or is she just being politically prudent in protecting the Republican presence needed for the upcoming elections?