Governor
Source: sos.nh.gov
What does this office do?
- Signing or vetoing bills that become state law
- Proposing the state budget for schools, roads, and health care
- Picking who leads state agencies
Affects: AI Regulation, Healthcare Affordability, Environment and Public Health,
Candidates:
Bob Wayne McClory
Did not advanceRepublican
Bob Wayne McClory is a Republican candidate for Governor of New Hampshire in 2026, challenging incumbent Kelly Ayotte in the primary. A welder from Goffstown, he previously ran for governor in 2024.
Cinde Warmington
AdvancedDemocratic
Cinde Warmington is a longtime health care attorney who served on New Hampshire's Executive Council from 2021 to 2025. She focuses on lowering living costs, including health care and housing, and opposes any new state income or sales tax.
Records: Government Spending Reduction 3 for, 1 against, Environment and Public Health 1 for, 1 against, Women's Reproductive Rights 2 for,
Kelly Ayotte
AdvancedRepublican · Incumbent
Kelly Ayotte has been New Hampshire's governor since January 2025. She was earlier a U.S. senator and the state's first female attorney general, and she focuses on public safety, including bail law changes, and school funding in a budget with no new taxes.
Records: Government Spending Reduction 6 for, 6 against, Women's Reproductive Rights 2 for, 6 against, Civil Rights 4 for, 2 against,
Shaun Fife
Did not advanceRepublican
Shaun Fife is a Republican candidate for Governor of New Hampshire in 2026, challenging incumbent Kelly Ayotte in the primary. A farmer from Gilmanton, he previously ran for governor in 2024, finishing third in the Republican primary.
Records: Civil Rights 1 against
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · indepthnh.org