Ayotte Posts $1.5M Fundraising Haul. Will Warmington Be Able To Match?

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Incumbent Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte announced Monday she raised more than $1.5 million in the filing period that just ended, bringing her to a total of $3.7 million since the 2026 campaign began.

That’s more than the $2.8 million her opponent, Cinde Warmington, raised during her entire 2024 Democratic primary campaign, when she unsuccessfully challenged former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig for her party’s nomination. That total includes more than $1 million Warmington loaned to her own campaign.

“Look, money matters in politics, and Gov. Ayotte clearly has it,” said Republican consultant Matthew Bartlett. “But in New Hampshire, momentum matters even more, and Ayotte has that, too.”

Warmington has yet to release her fundraising totals. In her June 2024 filing, Warmington had raised a total of $1.8 million. That was in a race where she competed with another Democrat for fundraising dollars rather than running as the party’s chosen candidate. Will she be able to match that number this week?

Ayotte’s fundraising number is notable because it’s the same amount she raised in 2024 when she was running for an open seat in the top governor’s race in the country. This cycle, Ayotte is widely viewed as the front-runner, and there’s little national interest. And yet, she’s maintaining her fundraising intensity.

“Granite Staters know Kelly will keep fighting on the issues that matter most to keep our state safe, prosperous and free,” said campaign spokesman John Corbett. “The only things Opioid Lobbyist Cinde Warmington has ever fought for are pill mills, Purdue Pharma and her own self-interest, and that’s why voters will reject her this November.”

Ayotte’s fundraising is far more aggressive than that of recent incumbent governors, a sign she is taking the race very seriously. For example, when former Gov. Chris Sununu ran for his second term, he raised a total of just $1.65 million. And Gov. Maggie Hassan raised $2.8 million for her 2014 reelection bid.

Ayotte has already beaten that total by nearly $1 million.

Warmington has been dogged by reports that she’s not enthusiastic about running for governor, and — more problematic — Democrats don’t appear to be, either. At the left-leaning Concord Monitor, a recent headline read, “Cinde Warmington may be Democrats’ only choice for governor. Do they want her?”

In a March poll from Saint Anselm College Survey Center, Warmington was viewed favorably by just 44 percent of her own party. Democratic insiders privately admit that, as bad as her 2024 candidacy was, this time her performance is even worse.

“I don’t know anyone who thinks Cinde’s going to win,” one Democratic activist told NHJournal on background.

New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley appeared to affirm that view during an appearance on the Steve Marchand podcast, suggesting it would take significant work to get Warmington to the 45 percent mark on Election Day.

“You cannot write off the governor’s race,” Buckley said. “We cannot have our nominee getting 35, 38 percent — whatever we got in 2020 and expect to hold onto majorities (in the legislature). Our nominee has got to be over 45 percent.

“That’s why it is critically important that everyone who’s out knocking on doors work Cinde Warmington into the conversation and show the support.”

Sources around Ayotte say that, however good conditions look today, she is not taking anything for granted.

“Warmington wakes up every day and gets her teeth kicked in by the Ayotte campaign,” said state Sen. Bill Gannon (R-Sandown). “Today’s kick is Gov. Ayotte continuing her record-breaking fundraising streak. Kelly has the resources, record and momentum to win big in November — the Opioid Lobbyist doesn’t have a prayer of keeping up.”

Patrick Hynes is a GOP communications professional, and he says Ayotte’s biggest strength is her discipline.

“While she enthusiastically celebrates the success of her first term, she also relentlessly defines Warmington as a liberal opioid lobbyist.

And now we learn that she has brought that focused discipline to her fundraising, too.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.