Gov. Kelly Ayotte went before the Nashua Rotary Club on Nov. 2 to push her message one more time before this year’s midterm election. Telegraph photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

NASHUA – Going before the Nashua Rotary Club, Gov. Kelly Ayotte made her final appeal to Granite State voters just 18 hours before the polls open for the midterm election.

“I understand that we have challenges right now,” she said during the Nov. 2 Rotary meeting. “I will work with anyone to solve those challenges.”

Ayotte said she inherited a difficult economic situation when she took office two years ago. At that time, the state had exhausted the $1.4 billion it had received from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act.

She said that under her watch, 12 housing bills were signed into law, additional money was put into the state budget for special education and the bail law was overhauled in September 2025.

Ayotte said that under the new bail law, during a traffic stop, police can determine if someone is out on bail.

“We were able to do that on a bi-partisan basis,” she said of her legislative achievements. “We did that without raising taxes.”

Looking ahead, Ayotte said housing, workforce development, education and childcare will continue to be priorities during the next two years.

“Without more affordable housing, we cannot grow our workforce and we cannot keep our young people here,” she said.

In addition, Ayotte said state-owned land can now be leased.

“We won’t use it for anything but affordable housing,” she said. “There really doesn’t need to be workforce housing.”

Speaking about childcare, Ayotte said a series of scholarships, funded at $88 million, are available from the state.

“The scholarships are quite effective,” she said, adding that a childcare tax credit is in place for businesses as well.

Ayotte also touted New Hampshire’s community colleges, saying they are among the top 10 community college networks in the nation.

“Our community colleges are phenomenal,” she said.

Regarding affordability, she said anyone who makes less than $100,000 per year can attend community college for free.

“The return on investment is going to be great,” she said.

According to the University of New Hampshire, Ayotte and Democratic challenger Cinde Warmington are tied with each holding 48 percent of the vote.