Kelly Ayotte Fears New Hampshire Could End Up Like Massachusetts; So Why Is That a Bad Thing?

Former New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte today threw her hat into the ring to seek the GOP nomination in next year's Granite state gubernatorial race following Republican Governor Chris Sununu's decision not to seek a fifth two-year term last week. 

After being elected to the Senate in 2010, she was unsuccessful in seeking re-election in 2016 losing narrowly to Maggie Hassan, then the state's Governor. 

Here is what struck me about Ayotte's announcement during an appearance on Fox & Friends. She declared:

We are one election away from becoming Massachusetts in New Hampshire, and I'm not going to let that happen.

We have something very special in New Hampshire — no income (tax), no sales tax, education freedom is so important in our state. So I'm running for governor to make sure that New Hampshire remains safe, prosperous and free.

So Ayotte is trying to convince people that New Hampshire Democrats are going to try to implement a state income tax and a state sales tax. It is true that Democrats in the New Hampshire Senate did try to implement an income tax in 2020 though it was vetoed by Governor Sununu but remains something still bandied about. 

Whether one thinks implementing an income tax in New Hampshire is a good idea or not, Ayotte speaks of Massachusetts like it was Mississippi. Earlier this year, a survey by WalletHub named Massachusetts tops in the nation to raise a family. So why exactly is ending up like Massachusetts a bad thing? Not that New Hampshire did badly mind you, ranking 6th in the survey. 

Notwithstanding the good quality of life in Massachusetts, Ayotte might be able to score political points in New Hampshire with anti-Bay State sentiment. If you've ever heard the term "Masshole", you can thank the people of New Hampshire for inventing it. 

Then again there's no guarantee that Ayotte will win the GOP gubernatorial primary. After all, Ayotte did make a point of not voting for Donald Trump in 2016 after the emergence of the Access Hollywood tape opting to write in Mike Pence. Ayotte's name had been floated for Secretary of Defense, but Trump put the kibosh on that idea and I would not be surprised if he did the same regarding her aspirations for state office no matter how many appearances she makes on Fox.