Kelly Ayotte is the 83rd Governor of New Hampshire, serving since January 9, 2025. A former U.S. Senator (2011-2017) and the state's first female Attorney General (2004-2009), Ayotte brings two decades of public service experience. Born in Nashua in 1968, she graduated from Pennsylvania State University and Villanova University School of Law. During her first year as governor, she has focused on fiscal conservatism, bail reform, housing affordability, and education freedom accounts. She has taken independent positions on social issues, vetoing anti-LGBTQ legislation while maintaining support for law enforcement and public safety initiatives.
Born June 27, 1968, in Nashua, New Hampshire, Kelly Ayotte graduated from Pennsylvania State University (B.A., 1990) and Villanova University School of Law (J.D., 1993). She served as a law clerk to New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Sherman Horton from 1993-1994 before joining the law firm McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton. She became a prosecutor for the New Hampshire Attorney General's office in 1998 and rose to chief of the Homicide Prosecution Unit. She was appointed Attorney General in 2004, becoming the first woman to serve in that role, and was reappointed twice. She was elected U.S. Senator in 2010 with 60% of the vote, defeating Congressman Paul Hodes. She served one six-year term in the Senate (2011-2017), losing her reelection bid by 0.14% (1,017 votes) to Democrat Maggie Hassan. After leaving the Senate, she worked on corporate boards including Caterpillar Inc., News Corp., and BAE Systems. She is married to Joseph Daley, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, and has two children.