New Hampshire GOP gubernatorial hopefuls debate a week ahead of primary

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A question about reducing anger and division in politics sparked one of the harshest exchanges of the night Tuesday when candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor met for a debate.

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and former state Senate president Chuck Morse are competing for a chance to succeed Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who is not seeking reelection. While four other names will be on the GOP primary ballot Sept. 10, only Ayotte and Morse were invited to debate on WMUR-TV.

Some of their most pointed criticisms of each other came when they were asked whether they were bothered by increasing polarization and anger in politics and how they would bridge the divide. Morse touted his work in the fall of 2016 to override then-Gov. Maggie Hassan’s veto of the state budget and then criticized Ayotte for losing her U.S. Senate to Hassan, a Democrat, that November.

“We didn’t unite because Kelly was running for the U.S. Senate again, and she lost that seat to Gov. Hassan,” Morse said. “She couldn’t support Donald Trump, and we lost the U.S. Senate seat for 12 years.”

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