Fault Lines Form between Ayotte, Conservatives

Last week Ovide Lamontagne wasted no time stating his opposition to President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor while former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte remained silent. Last night in Wolfeboro Ayotte came out in support of Sotomayor.

Both Lamontagne and Ayotte are considering running for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Judd Gregg. Ayotte’s candidacy is being supported by much of the Washington Republican establishment.

“I think that I would have approved her,” Ayotte told Doug Lambert of the blog Granite Grok.

Sotomayor was easily confirmed but only after receiving criticism from some conservatives for what they called her judicial activism and some controversial comments she made about race, which she said were misinterpreted.

Ayotte’s comments about Sotomayor came after her inaugural political speech to about 60 Republican activists at the Winnipesaukee Republican Social in Wolfeboro.

Ayotte was not forthcoming on many issues during her prepared remarks, choosing instead to paint broad strokes about fiscal responsibility and national security, though she spent more than an hour engaging with attendees one-on-one.