Fact-checking the New Hampshire gubernatorial debate on WMUR

In New Hampshire’s gubernatorial race, the nation’s closest, former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and former Democratic Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig met for a largely cordial debate Oct. 30 hosted by WMUR-TV. The candidates were asked to address their positions on abortion, immigration and homelessness. 

One of the more contentious moments came when WMUR moderator Steve Bottari twice asked Ayotte about her support for former President Donald Trump despite his convictions on 34 felony charges and other legal issues, including being found liable of sexual abuse in a civil case.

"I look at this issue like this. We have a comparison in this race between the Trump administration and the Biden-Harris administration. That's our choice in this election," Ayotte said. "Unfortunately, things have cost more under the Biden administration. The border has been a mess. Illegal immigrants coming over the border, that's not safe for the country. We need to enforce that border and also energy costs are more."

Ayotte countered by accusing Craig of standing for "higher taxes, less freedom and $1 billion spent on housing illegal immigrants" and seeking to tie Craig to Maura Healey, the Democratic governor of neighboring Massachusetts. "Why is she spending so much time with the governor of Massachusetts?" Ayotte asked, touting her endorsement by outgoing New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.

PolitiFact and WMUR-TV are partnering to fact-check claims in the 2024 New Hampshire gubernatorial race.

Here’s a rundown of some claims from the debate, fact-checked.

Craig: "Ayotte voted for a national abortion ban."

The vague use of "ban" may leave some voters with the wrong impression. In her response, Ayotte twice cited PolitiFact’s fact-check of a similar claim).

In 2013 and 2015, Ayotte supported a bill to end abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest and the mother’s health after that. The bill, introduced in 2013 and reintroduced in 2015, would have shortened access to abortions allowed under the federal Roe v. Wade standard of fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks of pregnancy. But a 20-week cutoff would still allow about 99% of abortions. 

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, many states enacted much shorter "bans" on abortion — including 18 that now ban abortion completely or after six weeks of gestation, which is before many women know they are pregnant. Ayotte has said she wants states to have the power to decide what limits, if any, to place on abortion.

Craig: "New Hampshire is the only state in New England that hasn't codified access to abortion."

This is True.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have codified abortion rights through viability, some before Roe was overturned and some afterward. Vermont has codified it throughout pregnancy.

Although New Hampshire law bans abortion after 24 weeks, it is the only New England state that does not have abortion rights before that point expressly written into law. Voters in 2018 approved a constitutional amendment protecting privacy, which may provide such protection, but this question hasn’t been tested in the courts.

Ayotte: Craig "supports sanctuary cities. She went up to the Legislature and testified against the ban in our state."

This is Mostly True.

"Sanctuary city" generally means a city that doesn’t have extensive cooperation with federal immigration officials.

Craig did oppose a 2023 bill that would have prohibited "any state or local government entity from establishing sanctuary policies." She supported Manchester’s police chief and other law enforcement officials in the state in taking this stance.

But Ayotte omitted some context. Manchester wasn’t a sanctuary city under Craig and it isn’t one now; it’s had a policy to cooperate with federal officials for the past decade.

Craig: "Kelly Ayotte caved to Donald Trump and didn't support" the bipartisan immigration bill.

This is True.

Earlier this year, senators from both parties worked together to craft an immigration compromise. It would have enabled the executive branch to block people from seeking asylum in between ports of entry if illegal immigration encounters reached certain levels, and it would have provided additional funding for law enforcement. But Trump came out against it, and Republican support crumbled.

As the Senate considered the bill, Ayotte, who left the Senate in 2017 after a 2016 election defeat by Democrat Maggie Hassan, aligned herself with Trump. In February, Ayotte posted on X that "only in D.C. would the so-called ‘solution’ to the Biden Admin’s lawlessness be to concoct watered down legislation that fails to secure our borders and keep Americans safe. Biden should stop abusing his authority, wake up, and secure the Southern and Northern borders NOW."

During the debate, Ayotte didn’t rebut Craig’s point but said she was known for her bipartisan efforts on the issue when she was in the Senate.

Ayotte: "Every year in office, when (Craig) put forward a budget (for Manchester), she would propose a tax increase." 

This needs context.

In each of Craig’s six proposed budgets as mayor, which were a starting point for the city budget discussion, tax revenue did increase. Ayotte glosses over that these revenue increases were all within the limits of the city’s voter-approved tax cap. 

Craig: When Ayotte was serving in the Senate, "she was the only senator in all of New England to vote against universal background checks."

This is True.

Craig is referring to a background check bill proposed after the Sandy Hook mass shooting in 2012. Ayotte was the only senator then representing the region to vote against the bill, which failed to secure enough support. 

The region’s other GOP senator at the time, Susan Collins of Maine, supported the bill. The rest of the senators in the region at the time were Democrats and they supported the measure.

Ayotte: "I was the third most bipartisan senator in the United States Senate."

This is wrong, according to the leading measurement of congressional bipartisanship.

Every Congress, the Lugar Center, a nonpartisan think tank, and Georgetown University’s  McCourt School of Public Policy rank members of the Senate and House on their degree of bipartisanship.

During the 112th Congress, covering 2011 and 2012, Ayotte was the 41st-ranking senator on the group’s list. For the 113th Congress, covering 2013 and 2014, she ranked seventh. And for the 114th Congress, covering 2015 and 2016, she ranked 12th.

PolitiFact Copy Chief Matthew Crowley contributed to this report.