Kelly Ayotte

Democratic Platform

Democrats support progressive taxation, with higher rates on top earners and corporations to fund public investment. The party favors raising the minimum wage, strengthening unions, and expanding worker protections. Democrats generally support government investment in infrastructure, education, and social programs as drivers of broad economic growth.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte supports lower taxes, reduced regulation, and market-oriented economic policies. As governor, she has focused on workforce development and attracting business investment to New Hampshire while maintaining the state's tradition of low taxes and limited government. She backed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act during her Senate tenure.

Republican Platform

Republicans favor lower taxes across income levels, with particular emphasis on cutting corporate and capital gains taxes to stimulate investment and job creation. The party supports deregulation, reduced government spending, and free market solutions over federal programs as the primary engine of prosperity.

Democratic Platform

Democrats support expanding access to affordable healthcare, including protecting the Affordable Care Act and moving toward a public option or expanded Medicare coverage. The party broadly favors government negotiation of prescription drug prices and opposes removing protections for pre-existing conditions.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte takes a market-oriented approach to healthcare, supporting competition and consumer choice over government mandates. During her Senate tenure she supported ACA repeal efforts while also backing targeted reforms. As governor she has focused on expanding access to mental health and substance abuse treatment, reflecting New Hampshire's opioid crisis.

Republican Platform

Republicans have generally sought to repeal or significantly reform the Affordable Care Act, favoring market-based solutions. The party supports expanding health savings accounts, increasing competition among insurers across state lines, and reducing federal mandates on coverage requirements.

Democratic Platform

Democrats generally support pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients, and favor comprehensive immigration reform. The party supports increased resources for legal immigration processing and a humanitarian approach to asylum seekers at the border.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte supports border security and enforcement-first approaches to immigration. She backs completing physical barriers and stricter enforcement of existing immigration law. During her Senate tenure she participated in some bipartisan immigration discussions while maintaining a generally enforcement-oriented position.

Republican Platform

Republicans prioritize border security and strict enforcement of existing immigration law. The party broadly supports completing physical border barriers, ending policies they view as incentivizing illegal entry, and reforming legal immigration to favor applicants with marketable skills.

Democratic Platform

Democrats favor robust federal investment in public K-12 education and higher education, along with policies to reduce or eliminate student loan debt. The party generally opposes using public funds for private school vouchers and supports universal pre-K and affordable childcare.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte supports school choice, local control over education decisions, and reducing federal curriculum mandates. As New Hampshire governor she has backed expanding educational options for families while also supporting investments in workforce training that align with the state's labor market needs.

Republican Platform

Republicans support school choice, including voucher programs for private and religious schools, and local control over curriculum decisions. The party generally opposes federal education mandates and broadly supports parental rights in schooling. Many Republicans oppose student loan forgiveness as unfair to borrowers who repaid their loans.

Democratic Platform

Democrats broadly support stricter gun safety measures, including universal background checks, red flag laws, and restrictions on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. The party frames these regulations as consistent with the Second Amendment and necessary to reduce mass shootings.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022) and has generally supported Second Amendment rights while being willing to back targeted, bipartisan gun safety measures. She supported background check improvements while defending the rights of New Hampshire's hunters and recreational shooters.

Republican Platform

Republicans strongly defend Second Amendment rights and generally oppose new gun control legislation, arguing that existing laws should be enforced more effectively. The party emphasizes mental health intervention, the right to self-defense, and opposes what they view as infringement on law-abiding gun owners.

Democratic Platform

Democrats view climate change as an urgent crisis requiring immediate government action. The party supports transitioning to clean energy through federal investment and regulation, reducing carbon emissions across the economy, and meeting international climate commitments. Democrats generally oppose expanding fossil fuel development on public lands.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte supports an all-of-the-above energy approach and is skeptical of aggressive federal climate mandates she argues raise costs for New Hampshire families and businesses. She has backed investments in clean energy technology development while opposing regulations she views as harmful to the state's energy consumers.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize American energy independence through domestic production of oil, gas, and coal alongside renewable development. Many in the party are skeptical of aggressive climate regulations they argue harm economic growth and jobs. Republicans generally prefer market-based energy solutions over government mandates and oppose restrictions that raise energy costs for families.

Democratic Platform

Democrats generally support a multilateral approach to foreign policy, emphasizing alliances, international institutions, and diplomacy as the first line of engagement. The party broadly supports maintaining NATO commitments, providing aid to democratic allies, and engaging international bodies to address shared challenges.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte was among the more internationalist members of the Senate Republican caucus during her tenure. She supported strong NATO commitments, robust defense spending, and U.S. leadership in countering authoritarian governments. She has backed assistance for democratic allies facing adversary aggression.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize American sovereignty, a strong military as a deterrent, and bilateral relationships over multilateral institutions. The party broadly supports robust defense spending and is skeptical of international agreements they view as constraining American action or requiring open-ended foreign commitments.

Democratic Platform

Democrats oppose cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits and support expanding both programs. The party generally favors raising the Social Security payroll tax cap on high earners to ensure long-term solvency and opposes any form of privatization.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte opposes cuts to Social Security benefits for current and near-term retirees and has discussed the need for structural reforms to ensure long-term solvency for younger workers. She opposes payroll tax increases as the primary mechanism for closing the program's funding gap.

Republican Platform

Republicans support reforming Social Security and Medicare to ensure long-term fiscal solvency, which some in the party argue requires adjusting benefits or eligibility ages. The party opposes tax increases to fund the programs and some members have supported personal investment account options.

Democratic Platform

Democrats broadly support criminal justice reform, including reducing mandatory minimum sentences, addressing racial disparities in policing and incarceration, and investing in community-based alternatives. The party generally supports police accountability measures and evidence-based approaches to reducing recidivism.

Kelly Ayotte

Ayotte, a former state attorney general, brings a prosecutorial background to criminal justice. She strongly supports law enforcement and has focused on combating fentanyl trafficking and opioid-related crime. She supported the First Step Act while maintaining a law-and-order approach to criminal sentencing.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize law and order, strong support for law enforcement, and tough penalties for crime. The party generally opposes reducing mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenses and supports prosecutors pursuing strong sentences. Republicans broadly oppose policies they view as undermining police authority or creating leniency for criminals.