NH Primary Source: Republican Governors Association wastes no time attacking Kelly as ‘tax hiker’
RGA HITS KELLY; NHDP HITS BACK. She’s not officially in the race for governor, yet, but Democratic former state Sen. Molly Kelly has already come under attack by the Republican Governors Association.
A day after WMUR reported that Kelly has formed an exploratory committee in a big step toward a likely eventual announcement for governor, the RGA labled her a “tax hiker” while praising Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who is seeking re-election.
Citing three votes Kelly cast as a member of the state Senate, the RGA said that during her five terms in office, she “consistently vote in favor of raising taxes and fees.”
It cited a 2014 vote by Kelly in favor of raising the state’s gasoline tax and her co-sponsorship of a 2013 bill to repeal the state’s education tax credit program.
The education tax credit bill was eventually tabled by the state with Kelly voting against tabling it.
The RGA also pointed out that in 2012, Kelly voted against placing on the voting ballot a proposed constitutional amendment to ban a state income tax.
While focusing on only Kelly’s three votes, the RGA also save some criticism for the only declared Democratic candidate for governor, former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand.
“New Hampshire Democrat gubernatorial candidates have made one thing clear to voters this year: if elected, they will raise taxes on working families,” the RGA said.
“Like Steve Marchand, Molly Kelly would only seek to undo Gov. Chris Sununu’s bipartisan, pro-jobs progress if elected. Her commitment to raising taxes on working New Hampshire families shows that she is unfit to lead the Granite State,” the RGA said.
The state Democratic Party responded to the RGA by citing Democratic wins in nine of 11 special legislative elections in the past year. NHDP Chair Raymond Buckley also said:
“This calculated attack proves Republicans know how much trouble they're in with a candidate as weak as Gov. Sununu, whose only major accomplishments are passing a concealed carry bill, America's first voter suppression bill in the Trump era, and a budget that gave $100 million in tax cuts for the wealthiest 3 percent of corporations, instead of freezing tuition, funding the opioid fight or putting a single dollar into workforce development and job training.”
“Unlike Sununu, Marchand and Kelly's record of delivering for New Hampshire working families speaks for itself and will not be smeared by Washington Republican Party hacks."