Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte says her rival, Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, lacks a depth of understanding on national security and the threats facing the country.
Ayotte laid out her differences with Hassan as she filed her paperwork to run for re-election in one of the country’s most closely watched races that will help determine control of the Senate.
Speaking before her filing Wednesday, Ayotte also focused on her efforts to rein in government waste and cut red tape. She’s calling Hassan a tax-and-spend Democrat while citing her own efforts to increase health care access for veterans and fight the opioid abuse crisis.
Hassan’s campaign says Ayotte sides with special interest over New Hampshire voters and tried to connect her to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“Ayotte also agrees with Donald Trump on several of his most dangerous policy proposals for Granite State families and small businesses, including defunding Planned Parenthood, obstructing the confirmation of a new Supreme Court Justice, and wanting to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Hassan’s campaign said in a statement.
Ayotte says she does not have any current plans to campaign alongside Trump.
Ayotte’s primary challenger, former state senator Jim Rubens, also filed paperwork.