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NH Gubernatorial Forum

Solid Foundations: Gubernatorial Forum on the Well-Being of Kids in the Granite State.

Save the Children Action Network’s (SCAN) “High 5 for Kids” campaign gives children a voice on the campaign trail. During this pivotal election year we educated the public about the importance of issues facing New Hampshire kids and families, particularly around early childhood education and child hunger, through a series of gubernatorial candidate forums leading into the 2024 state primary.

SCAN partnered with the Couch Family Foundation, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, and 34 New Hampshire businesses, nonprofits and child care providers to reach our shared vision of educating, engaging and empowering citizens to put issues affecting children and families front and center in local politics during a presidential election year.

Meet The Candidates

The forums ran from May 9 to May 14 and featured the major candidates running for their party’s nomination, including Cinde Warmington (D), Chuck Morse (R), Kelly Ayotte (R), and Joyce Craig (D). Forum moderators guided each candidate through questions and allowed the gubernatorial hopefuls an opportunity to speak directly to voters. Below are some key quotes from the candidates.

Cinde Warmington (D), 5/9/24

“We know that investing in early childhood education and pre-school is what gives a child the foundation they need to be more successful in kindergarten, be more successful in school later on and be more successful in life. We are missing this opportunity, and we really need to invest in public pre-school and make sure that we are giving every child across the state that opportunity.”

Chuck Morse (R), 5/10/24

“I honestly believe we have to give every child opportunities – education is certainly one of those categories where I believe we need to do better; we need to create opportunity in our state. I think we have to work together to figure out how we’re going to work with those early years. Kindergarten was a big step for New Hampshire.”

Kelly Ayotte (R), 5/13/24

“Child care is a huge need in this state. As we grow our economy, without a workforce and housing and child care, we’re leaving so many people along the sidelines. Parents need care, and we want New Hampshire to be a great place for children.”

Joyce Craig (D), 5/14/24

“Child care workers are doing mission work. We need to increase the wages of our child care workers in the state of New Hampshire. But what we need to make sure we do, though, is make sure that does not fall on the backs of individuals who are paying for child care.”