ROUNDUP: The Cost of Kelly

ROUNDUP: The Cost of Kelly
 

Kelly Ayotte keeps finding new ways to raise costs on Granite Staters. Here’s how much Granite Staters paid for the Cost of Kelly in office this week: 

An estimated 20,000 Granite Staters will start paying “up to $300 monthly” for basic coverage thanks to new, excessive Medicaid premiums imposed by Kelly Ayotte. That’s on top of the more than 13,000 Granite Staters who have already lost Medicaid coverage because of Donald Trump’s Big, Ugly Bill. 

If there’s any sign Granite Staters are souring on Ayotte’s costly agenda, look no further than two new surveys out of UNH. Ayotte’s approval ratings continue to be the worst of any first-term Governor in New Hampshire in 30+ years. Less than half of the state approves of Ayotte’s job as governor, so it’s no wonder Democratic candidate Cinde Warmington is just five points behind Kelly.  

Even worse? A whopping 62% of Granite Staters disapprove of Trump’s overall job as president, and 58% of Granite Staters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. For Kelly Ayotte, the news couldn’t have come at a worse time. She’s refused to stand up to Donald Trump as he’s “delivered nothing but higher costs” for Granite Staters.  

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Union Leader: NH Dems decry Medicaid premium increases

• Low and moderate-income families on public assistance programs eventually will have to pay up to $300 monthly for their health insurance premiums, a critical move that state budget writers took in June 2025 to balance their two-year state budget

• State Democratic leaders, including gubernatorial nominee-to-be Cinde Warmington of Concord, pounced Wednesday on the target date of July 1 in the state budget to make these premium changes

• “Our most vulnerable families will feel the pain and face the increased prices of Kelly Ayotte’s and Donald Trump’s reckless Medicaid cuts. Families that can no longer afford health coverage will be left entirely without health care, and providers will find it harder than ever to continue providing care as they struggle to keep their doors open,” Warmington said in a statement

• “Granite Staters deserve a governor who is committed to making health care more accessible and more affordable, and I’ll reverse these costly premiums when I get to the corner office.”

• Once adopted, the premiums would apply to about 8,600 families, or about 10% on the CHIP program, DHHS officials said.

Granite Post: Trump’s approval hits a new low in NH. That’s a problem for Kelly Ayotte.

• President Donald Trump’s popularity in New Hampshire has sunk to its lowest point in nearly a decade, and the timing could hardly be worse for the Republican who endorsed him: Gov. Kelly Ayotte.

• A new University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released Monday found just 38% of New Hampshire residents approve of the job Trump is doing, against 62% who disapprove—a net rating of -24, down from -14 in February, before the U.S. attacked Iran.

• That is the environment Ayotte must run in. She filed for a second term in early June, and Democrats are working to turn November’s election into a referendum on Trump and the Republicans who backed him. Ayotte is an inviting target.

• State strategists agree the connection between Trump and Ayotte could be a liability.

• “Donald Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ has delivered nothing but higher costs and uncertainty for small businesses and working families across New Hampshire—and Kelly Ayotte has enabled every step of it,” said Aaron Jacobs, a senior New Hampshire political strategist and campaign manager to top federal races in the state.

• “It’s no wonder Ayotte has racked up the worst approval ratings of any first-term New Hampshire governor in more than 30 years. Turns out siding with Trump over New Hampshire isn’t a winning strategy.”

• The dynamic reaches beyond Ayotte, as downballot Republicans will likely face similar challenges come November.

• “Governor Ayotte and every Republican candidate in New Hampshire faces a serious problem due to President Trump’s unpopularity in the state,” said Nathan Shrader, an associate professor of politics at New England College. “They are likely to face potential backlash at the polls if they don’t distance themselves from him and his troubled administration.”

NHPR: UNH poll shows tight races for governor and U.S. Senate

• In the race for New Hampshire governor, the UNH poll shows Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte is maintaining a small lead over Democrat Cinde Warmington: 44% of those polled said they would vote for Ayotte, while 39% would choose Warmington.

• The poll found 47% approve of Ayotte’s job performance and 45% disapprove. The governor’s overall favorability was lower: 38% said they have a favorable opinion of Ayotte, while 42% reported an unfavorable opinion.

• The poll also asked whether the state was headed in the right direction or was on the wrong track. Slightly less than half — 45% — said the state is heading in the right direction, while 40% said the state is on the wrong track and 15% said they were unsure.

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