Warmington Files Complaint Over Ad Hitting Her 'Net Zero' Policies

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

After years of advocating for a “net zero” energy policy in New Hampshire, Democrat Cinde Warmington’s campaign has filed a complaint over an ad attacking her green energy policies.

Entitled “Warmington: Higher Cost, Higher Taxes,” the ad says Warmington “has an extreme energy plan called ‘more aggressive than Massachusetts.’ Warmington would eliminate natural gas and home heating oil in New Hampshire, skyrocketing our costs.”

It references an April 21, 2024 NHJournal article reporting on the CLEAN Energy Economy Plan Warmington proposed during her failed campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Warmington said that plan would “lead New Hampshire to net zero emissions by 2040.”

That’s 10 years ahead of Massachusetts, which has pledged to achieve “net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050.”

“Net zero” means New Hampshire would not generate more net carbon emissions from energy generation than it would if it weren’t generating energy at all. In other words, no burning natural gas, oil, or coal.

The Warmington campaign says the ad’s description of her energy policy is false. The election law complaint, filed by Warmington’s husband, attorney William Christie, claims “it is a lie” to say Warmington would “eliminate natural gas and heating oil.”

“In fact, her campaign was recently quoted in the Union Leader stating Councilor Warmington ‘does not support a complete ban on fossil fuels and never has – this is just another pathetic lie from the Ayotte campaign.'”

What Warmington has not explained, despite more than 25 requests for comment or clarification from NHJournal, is how she would achieve net zero while still allowing natural gas power generation or burning fossil fuels like heating oil and propane to heat New Hampshire homes. Nearly 60 percent of Granite State homes use either heating oil or propane, according to 2024 American Community Survey data.

Warmington has, however, maintained her opposition to fossil fuels.

In an August 2026 interview with WMUR, Warmington repeated her opposition to allowing more natural gas into the state, even if that meant lower costs for consumers.

“Are you opposed to those efforts on principle, given your prior support for getting to net zero?” WMUR’s Adam Sexton asked.

“I believe that we need to stop the addiction to fossil fuel,” Warmington answered. “We need a clean energy economy in this state, an investment in energy efficiency, in renewable energy.”

Part of the confusion may stem from Warmington’s refusal to release an updated energy plan, something she’s been promising supporters for months.

Speaking to Pelham Democrats in June, she referred to her previous green energy proposal and said an update was coming. “We’re tweaking that now, updated, and we’ll be putting that out,” she said in a recording obtained by NHJournal.

The complaint filed Wednesday also denied that Warmington is “open to a state income tax,” as the ad claims.

“This statement is false,” the complaint says. “On countless occasions, Councilor Warmington has stated she is against any broad-based tax, including an income and sales tax, and would veto any bill imposing a broad-based tax, including an income or sales tax.”

However, the ad references coverage of Warmington’s opposition to legislation to ban a sales or income tax in New Hampshire.

The legal complaint “demands that the Attorney General issue a cease-and-desist letter instructing Kelly Ayotte for New Hampshire and WMUR (and any other television outlets that may have been provided the advertisement) to immediately cease broadcasting this illegal political advertising.”

Warmington’s case is not helped by the fact that, on the same day her campaign filed this complaint, Warmington was scheduled to participate in an anti-fossil-fuel town hall co-hosted by 350NH Action and Rights & Democracy NH. The slogan of 350NH’s No Gas No Coal campaign?

“End fossil fuel use in New England.”

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.