Former Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington is again running for governor.
Warmington, who also ran in 2024 and lost in the Democratic primary, says her campaign will focus on making New Hampshire more affordable, something she says Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has failed to achieve.
“The prices of groceries, housing, electricity and property taxes are crushing working families,” Warmington said in a statement Wednesday morning. “Kelly Ayotte is making life in New Hampshire even more expensive.”
Warmington, 68, is a former health care attorney. In the video announcing her run, she promised to oppose a sales or income tax, to end the state’s voucher-like school choice program, and to fight a range of policies backed by President Trump.
“I’ll repeal the private school voucher scheme that’s damaging public schools and driving up property taxes. I’ll stand up to Trump when he jacks up health care costs and tariffs. I’ll say no to ICE’s warehouse, and I’ll work for our small businesses and make sure we don't have a sales or income tax,” Warmington said.
Warmington joins Newmarket businessman Jon Kiper in the Democratic primary. She lost the gubernatorial primary in 2024 to then-Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig by 6%. She won seven of the state’s 10 counties, but votes from New Hampshire’s largest city put Craig over the top.
John Corbett, a spokesperson for Ayotte’s campaign, issued a statement criticizing Warmington’s past legal work representing a chain of pain clinics and her role as a lobbyist for Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.
“Cinde chose to make money off big pharmaceutical companies who hurt Granite Staters, and she is absolutely disqualified from serving as our Governor,” Corbett said.
Warmington faced similar attacks during the Democratic primary race two years ago. In a statement Wednesday morning, Kiper renewed criticisms of Warmington’s ties to the opioid industry.
“Warmington has accepted thousands in campaign donations from the very clinics that overprescribed her self-described ‘miracle drug,’ OxyContin,” he said.
While Warmington’s announcement confirms the Democratic primary will feature more than a single candidate, other Democrats could soon enter the race. Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern has indicated he’s seriously weighing a run for governor as well.
While Ayotte has not formally said she’s running for reelection this year, she’s all but certain to do so. And while history is on her side — with most governors winning a second term — this year’s political landscape could present challenges for her. Ayotte has spent much of her first year in office trying to maintain a distance from President Trump, while avoiding any direct confrontation with the president. That balance will only get more difficult as Election Day approaches.
