By Reid Wilson
Former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R) made her first public appearance as a potential Senate candidate Monday night, answering skeptics who worry about her conservative credentials.
Ayotte, who had been appointed to her post by both Republican and Democratic governors, resigned her office in July to explore a bid to replace retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R). It was a major recruiting victory for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) — but one that developed into a relationship for which both the NRSC and Ayotte have had to answer.
Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who heads the NRSC, has denied his committee is publicly backing Ayotte.
“As a general rule we would not endorse anyone that did not ask for that endorsement, and Kelly Ayotte has not asked for an endorsement,” Cornyn told reporters last week. “I respect ultimately the right of the people of New Hampshire to select their own candidate. I think it would be presumptuous of us to pick one when neither the candidate nor the circumstances would warrant it.”
