McCain campaigning in New Hampshire for key NRSC recruit Ayotte

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is making a campaign stop for New Hampshire GOP Senate nominee Kelly Ayotte on Saturday.

The 2008 presidential nominee will appear in Nashua to boost her bid to win the seat of retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), according to a tweet on his 1.7 million-follower account.

Earlier this month, Ayotte survived a primary challenge from Tea Party-backed candidate Ovide Lamontagne, who was backed by McCain’s Senate colleague Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) 

Since then, DeMint has given $100,000 to the New Hampshire GOP to aid Ayotte’s campaign, according to spokesman Matt Hoskins.

Ayotte was a top tier recruit for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), but several other NRSC-backed candidates such as Colorado’s Jane Norton and Kentucky’s Trey Grayson lost primary races to candidates with Tea Party support.

The GOP nominee holds a 15-point lead over Democratic nominee Rep. Paul Hodes (N.H.) in a recent in-state poll. 

— This post was updated at 8:59 p.m.