Sen. Kelly Ayotte: 'I Will Not Vote For Donald Trump'

NASHUA, NH — U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who earlier this week called Donald Trump a role model, completely reversed course Saturday — declaring she will not vote for the Republican presidential nominee. Ayotte's decision followed the release of an audio recording Friday that caught Trump making vulgar comments about women.

Ayotte, of Nashua, said she will instead write in Mike Pence, Trump's running mate, for president on her ballot.

"I wanted to be able to support my party's nominee," Ayotte said in a statement. "However, I'm a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women.

"I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and instead will be writing in Governor Pence for president on Election Day."

Ayotte is the latest in a series of high-profile Republican lawmakers to publicly renounce Trump following the tape's release. U.S. Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama also said Saturday she's not voting for Trump.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah demanded Trump drop out of the race.

Ayotte is running for re-election against Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan. On Monday, the pair participated in a live, televised debate. At one point, Ayotte was asked is she would point to Donald Trump as a role model for children.

"I think that certainly there are many role models that we have, and I believe he can serve as president and so absolutely I would do that," Ayotte responded. She quickly retreated from those comments and in an unusual move released a statement just hours after the debate ended, admitting she "misspoke."

"While I hope all of our children would aspire to be president, neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have set a good example and I wouldn't hold up either of them as role models for my kids," she said.

Recent polls show Ayotte with a slim lead over Hassan. Observers see it as a key race that could determine the balance of power in the Republican-controlled Senate.

On Friday, the Washington Post published a 2005 audio recording from the set of "Days of Our Lives" that caught Trump talking about how he tried to have sex with a married women and how he believes he can grope women whenever he pleases. On Friday night, Trump apologized in a video."I've never said I'm a perfect person," Trump said.

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• Sen. Kelly Ayotte Calls Donald Trump a Role Model, Then Says She 'Misspoke'
• Graphic Donald Trump Audio: When You're A Star, You Can Do Anything To Women

Photo: ayotte.senate.gov