Kelly Ayotte secured the Republican nomination for Governor, defeating Chuck Morse in the state primary Tuesday. Ayotte won 88,117 votes, while Morse received 47,567.
Morse and Ayotte debated in the Putnam Theater as part of the Live Free or Die Primary debate series at New England College on Sept. 4.
Each candidate answered questions about education, marijuana legalization, and New Hampshire college graduates seeking jobs in other states.
Melanie Plenda, a panelist from The Granite State News Collaborative, asked where they stand on education freedom accounts.
Morse explained that he wants equal opportunity in education for all children, and that New Hampshire has one of the best public school systems in America.
“I want every child to have opportunity in education […] that’s opposite of what Kelly did down in Washington, because she went against school choice for low income families,” Morse said. “We have one of the best public education systems in the country, but we can do better.”
Ayotte pushed back on Morse, and said she supports providing free education to all children regardless of their background or social status.
“I voted for education freedom in Washington,” Ayotte said. “I support universal education freedom.”
Jeff Chidester, host of WFEA Morning Update, asked the candidates stance on legalizing marijuana in New Hampshire.
Morse explained that he does not support the legalization of marijuana.
“I think my record is pretty clear on where I stand on marijuana,” Morse said. “We shouldn’t legalize it in New Hampshire.”
Ayotte agreed with Morse and explained that legalization will not bring positive change.
“Will it improve our quality of life? And I think the answer is clearly no,” Ayotte said. “We don’t want that here in New Hampshire.”
When asked what candidates would do to keep New Hampshire college graduates in New Hampshire, Ayotte said the state needs to focus on high paying jobs.
“We want to keep more young people in our state,” Ayotte said. “We’re also connecting with some great employers in New Hampshire for those jobs that are here, because we want to keep [the youth] here in New Hampshire.”
Morse explained that it needs to start early in the high schools and community colleges.
“I think we need to start earlier,” Morse said. “They can start to earn their degrees earlier in life, and when they get out of college, they’re not saddled to death.”
