Embattled GOP senator fires back at Warren

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is hitting back at Sen. Elizabeth Warren after the Massachusetts Democrat called Ayotte weak. 

“You know, the thing about her coming to New Hampshire, a Massachusetts senator, and telling the voters, telling New Hampshire what to do, I think we see right through that,” Ayotte told Boston Herald Radio on Thursday, when asked about Warren.

{mosads}Warren, a favorite of the left, targeted Ayotte for her wavering support of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump while campaigning in New Hampshire this week. 

Warren was in the Granite State stumping on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Gov. Maggie Hassan, the Democrat running against Ayotte. 

“Day one, she loves him. Day two, she hates him. Day three, she’s back with him. Boy, she spins round and round,” Warren said on Monday. 

Ayotte withdrew her support for Trump earlier this month after a 2005 tape surfaced of the GOP nominee discussing groping and kissing women without their consent. Democrats have targeted her for that the decision, arguing Ayotte only flipped positions because she’s up for reelection.  

“Trump even attacked Kelly Ayotte and called her weak, and Kelly stuck with him,” Warren said, referencing an August incident in which Trump attacked Ayotte for saying she would vote for him but not formally endorsing him. “Donald Trump is right. Kelly is weak.”

But Ayotte fired back Wednesday, saying “maybe she should ask the police and law enforcement of our state whether or not they think I’m weak.” 

She added that Hassan is “just like” Warren because she’s “never met a tax increase she doesn’t like.” 

“That’s not the way of New Hampshire. That’s not what I stand for. So, you know, this race is really about who is going to stand up for our state,” she said, tapping into the regional rivalry between the neighboring states. “I don’t think Senator Warren speaks for New Hampshire.” 

Warren has increasingly targeted GOP lawmakers and Trump as she’s stumped for Clinton. Though the Massachusetts senator is fairly new to Washington — joining the Senate in 2013 — she’s quickly become one of the Democratic Party’s most influential figures. 

Asked to name one thing Warren has accomplished in the Senate, Ayotte instead pivoted to herself, saying she has “one of the most bipartisan records in the Senate.” 

“[That], by the way, is quite a contrast to Senator Warren, who is on the opposite side of the spectrum,” she said. “Because I focus on solving problems and getting things done for the people of the state.”

Ayotte and Hassan have been locked in a tight race for months, with Ayotte maintaining a narrow lead with less than two weeks to go until Election Day. The RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Ayotte leading by less than 2 points.

Democrats need to win back five seats — or four if they retain the White House — to regain the Senate majority.