Democrat Warmington Comes Out Swinging, But Can't Knock Out Opioid Issue

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Accusing Gov. Kelly Ayotte of being “in lockstep with Donald Trump,” Democrat Cinde Warmington officially entered the governor’s race Thursday at the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office.

Flanked by family and supporters, Warmington stayed on offense during her post-filing press conference, repeatedly attacking the incumbent Republican while offering few specifics about her plans for the future.

“Right now in the Corner Office, we have a governor with the lowest approval ratings of any governor in over 30 years, and the reason is because she is hurting the people of New Hampshire,” Warmington said. “She has jacked up property taxes with her school voucher scam. She has jacked up electricity prices. She has failed completely to address the housing crisis, and she has failed the people of New Hampshire to say no to data centers. Let’s take a pause and make sure we don’t do something that fundamentally changes the landscape of our state.”

Warmington stood behind the same table two years ago when she entered the 2024 race for governor. She lost that Democratic primary to former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, who went on to lose to Ayotte by 9 points. Asked by NHJournal why this time would be different, Warmington gave a one-sentence answer.

“Well, this time we’re going to win.”

Republicans beg to differ.

“Cinde Warmington is a disgraced opioid lobbyist who spent years serving the special interests that fueled New Hampshire’s opioid crisis,” said NHGOP Chairman Scott Maltzie. “I don’t know how she sleeps at night, never mind runs for governor. The gall it takes to run again is truly remarkable.”

Democratic candidate for governor Cinde Warmington speaks with Secretary of State David Scanlan after she files her paperwork to get on the ballot, June 4, 2026.(Michael Graham)

The opioid issue remains front and center in the governor’s race, with Warmington fielding multiple questions about her previous work as a lobbyist in Concord on behalf of Purdue Pharma and OxyContin. Warmington dismissed the issue as a distraction from the past.

“Every time you hear Kelly attacking me, you should think that Kelly doesn’t want people thinking about the fact that housing is at sky-high prices, and she’s done nothing about it,” Warmington said.

Asked by a reporter if she had any defense of her work as a pharma lobbyist other than to attack Ayotte, Warmington said, “We can talk about the attacks on me, but really, what we’re focused on is the future of the state.”

There’s no sign of Republicans relenting.

“Based on her role in fueling the opioid epidemic and calling OxyContin a ‘miracle drug,’ Cinde Warmington is completely disqualified from being governor. Warmington chose a payday over protecting New Hampshire families,” said RGA Communications Director Kollin Crompton.

Few public polls about the race have been released, but the available data show Ayotte leading by about 7 points.

At the same time, Ayotte’s approval rating remains below 50 percent, and is significantly lower than Gov. Chris Sununu’s numbers at their peak. Democratic strategists like Steve Marchand say she is “uniquely vulnerable” to defeat as a first-term governor.

Republicans say whether or not that’s true, Warmington is unusually weak as a challenger, having just lost the Democratic primary to Craig two years ago.

Warmington has declared herself the underdog in this race, a contest she appeared reluctant to enter. While her fellow Democrats began campaigning for Congress and U.S. Senate a year ago, Warmington didn’t jump into the contest until February.

Team Ayotte says Warmington still isn’t ready for prime time. It points to her attacks on Ayotte over data centers as an example.

“If Kelly Ayotte is governor, you mark my words, we are going to have an ICE detention camp in this state. We are going to have data centers all over this state. Kelly Ayotte is wrong for New Hampshire, and the people of New Hampshire know it,” Warmington said.

In fact, Ayotte has repeatedly opposed data centers, telling Seacoastonline, “I don’t support building data centers here.” And two weeks ago, WMUR reported that Ayotte “is taking a hard line against data centers in New Hampshire.”

“Cinde Warmington spent her career being paid to lie on behalf of Purdue Pharma and the most notorious pill mill in New England. No one can trust a thing she says,” said campaign spokesman John Corbett.

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.