Kelly Ayotte and Cinde Warmington both oppose a broad-based sales or income tax. Their agreement on that pledge leaves substantial differences over schools and public programs, while Libertarian Stephen Villee proposes a much smaller government over time.

All three appear in the Secretary of State's general-election candidate list, dated Sept. 17: Ayotte as the Republican, Warmington as the Democrat and Villee as the Libertarian. The governor's election is Nov. 3.

Ayotte: defending the administration's approach

Ayotte's campaign record page emphasizes new housing laws, education funding, childcare scholarships and efforts to lower electricity costs. Her campaign says it has protected Medicaid and is pushing utilities and regulators to reduce costs.

Those are the campaign's descriptions of its record. The number of completed homes and the savings on an individual customer's bill require separate measures.

On Oct. 14, Ayotte announced a Community College Promise proposal for eligible New Hampshire students with family incomes up to $100,000. It would cover tuition remaining after grant aid, excluding fees. Students would need at least six credits a semester and a 2.0 grade-point average. The proposal requires legislative approval and would begin in fall 2027 if enacted.

Warmington: changing school and affordability policy

Warmington's campaign agenda pledges to repeal the private-school voucher program while opposing new sales or income taxes. The program, known as Education Freedom Accounts, directs public education funding toward eligible private-school or home-school expenses.

Her campaign argues that the voucher program harms public schools and increases property-tax pressure. Those are campaign claims. State program spending, local school budgets and local tax decisions also affect what residents pay.

Warmington's priorities page calls for a gas-tax suspension, housing action and cannabis legalization. Her campaign has separately called for a temporary data-center moratorium. A moratorium is a pause on development; its duration, exceptions and legal basis determine what it would stop.

Villee: voting changes and cannabis legalization

Villee's campaign platform prioritizes approval voting, adult cannabis legalization, limits on National Guard activation and medical access to psilocybin, a psychedelic substance. Approval voting would let voters support more than one candidate in a contest, with the highest total winning.

In written answers to Six State Signal on Oct. 16, Villee said approval voting and cannabis legalization are his first legislative priorities. He said he would seek legislation similar to earlier New Hampshire bills and aims for both changes to take effect in 2028. Both would require lawmakers' approval.

Villee described his proposals to wind down welfare programs and pursue secession as long-term goals. "I would not pursue them at all in 2027 or 2028," he wrote. He said they would depend on a future libertarian majority in New Hampshire and, for secession, a U.S. constitutional amendment. Those conditions are political goals rather than steps a governor can carry out alone.

He opposes Ayotte's Community College Promise proposal. "While that's not a huge cost, subsidizing community college like this is not the libertarian way," he wrote.

The common budget question

Opposing a new broad-based tax does not answer how a candidate would fund schools, healthcare and local aid. Each candidate's first budget would show the spending priorities and tradeoffs behind that pledge.

Six State Signal requested candidate interviews on Oct. 15 and asked for responses by noon Eastern on Oct. 19. Villee supplied written answers on Oct. 16. Ayotte and Warmington have not supplied answers as of this update; their response deadline has not passed.