Kelly Ayotte

Kelly Ayotte Declared Winner Of NH Senate Republican Primary

Jillian Rayfield | September 15, 2010, 1:27PM

Kelly Ayotte

After an extremely close race, former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte has won the Republican nomination for senator in New Hampshire, the secretary of state has announced. Ayotte leads tea party-backed Ovide Lamontagne by little more than 1,600 votes.

Lamontagne had shown signs of a surge in the past few weeks, and the closeness of the results may mean that he could possibly call for a recount.

If the results stand, Ayotte will face Rep. Paul Hodes (D) in the general election.

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NH-SEN

Report: Final Result Coming Soon In NH-SEN Republican Primary

Eric Kleefeld | September 15, 2010, 12:48PM

The New Hampshire Republican Senate primary is still too close to call -- but might not be for long, the Union Leader reports, with a result possibly coming soon. As of right now, establishment-backed Kelly Ayotte has a very narrow lead over Tea Party-backed candidate Ovide Lamontagne.

Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan told the paper that his office is getting close to a final result. "There are some numbers we want to double-check," said Scanlon.

With 90% of precincts reporting, Ayotte has a slim edge of 38%-37%, with a raw vote lead of just 1,120 votes.

NH-SEN

GOP Primary In New Hampshire Too Close To Call

Jillian Rayfield | September 15, 2010, 8:53AM

Update at 9:52 AM ET: With 85% of precincts reporting, Ayotte is now ahead 979 votes.

The Republican primary in New Hampshire has come down to former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and Tea Party-backed Ovide LaMontagne, and the results are still too close to call.

With 83% of precincts reporting, Ayotte is ahead 38%-37%, which amounts to less than 1,000 votes.

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2010 elections

Tonight's Primaries: The Last Big Election Night Before November

Eric Kleefeld | September 14, 2010, 5:58PM

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Christine O'Donnell

Tonight marks the last major night of the 2010 primary season. And what a wild and wacky season it's been -- and could still prove to be tonight.

This is the last multi-state primary night this year. After tonight, the only one primary left is Hawaii's this Saturday.

So let's take a look at some of tonight's races. There are Tea Party insurgents against establishment GOP moderates, Dems fighting it out to keep their jobs, and a whole lot of fun throughout.

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Kelly Ayotte

Magellan Poll: Ayotte Only Leading Lamontagne By Four Points In NH-SEN Primary

Jillian Rayfield | September 13, 2010, 5:01PM

US Senate primary candidate Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

More bad news for Kelly Ayotte: A Magellan poll released today shows the Republican establishment's preferred New Hampshire Senate candidate only leading her primary opponent Ovide Lamontagne 35%-31% ahead of tomorrow's primary.

LaMontagne, the Tea Party favorite, has been gaining some ground on the establishment-backed Ayotte over the past few weeks. The previous Magellan poll, from September 1, showed Ayotte leading Lamontagne 34-21. A PPP poll released today shows LaMontagne trailing Ayotte by seven points.

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Kelly Ayotte

PPP Poll: LaMontagne Closing Gap Against Ayotte In NH-SEN Primary

Jillian Rayfield | September 13, 2010, 10:01AM

Former NH Attorney General and Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte (R)

The New Hampshire Republican Senate primary tomorrow is getting even tighter, with a new PPP poll showing Tea Party-backed Ovide LaMontagne only trailing frontrunner (and establishment pick) Kelly Ayotte by seven points.

LaMontagne has gained serious ground since the last PPP poll in July, when he was trailing Ayotte by a whopping 39 points.

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NH-SEN

Is Kelly Ayotte In Trouble In The NH-SEN Republican Primary?

Jillian Rayfield | September 8, 2010, 8:46AM

Former NH Attorney General and Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte (R)

Former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte was sailing along in New Hampshire's Republican senate primary. She was way ahead of her Republican opponents -- and her potential Dem rival Rep. Paul Hodes -- in the polls, was backed by the establishment GOP, and was even counted among the ranks of Sarah Palin's "mama grizzlies" when the former half-term governor endorsed Ayotte back in July.

But somewhere between the primary in-fighting and concerns about Ayotte's conservative record, former state Board of Education chairman and Tea Party-backed candidate Ovide Lamontagne began to gain some ground.

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NH-SEN

Magellan Poll: Ayotte Leads NH-SEN Republican Primary -- Tea Party-Backed Lamontagne Gaining Ground

Eric Kleefeld | September 3, 2010, 4:21PM

US Senate primary candidate Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

The new Magellan Strategies (R) poll of the New Hampshire Senate primary shows former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, the establishment choice for the GOP nomination, leading the wide-open field. But it's not a sure thing, with plenty of volatility in the numbers.

The numbers: Ayotte 34%, former state Board of Education chairman Ovide Lamontagne 21%, businessman Bill Binnie 17%, and businessman Jim Bender 13%. The survey of likely primary voters has a ±3.3% margin of error.

The previous Magellan poll from May had Ayotte at 38%, Binnie at 29%, Lamontagne at 9%, and Bender at only 4%. The TPM Poll Average has Ayotte at 36%, Binnie 23%, Lamontagne 15%, and Bender 8.5%.

The primary will be held on September 14.