Cinde Warmington announces 2024 bid for N.H. governor

“We’ve had enough extremist battles,” said Warmington, the top elected Democrat in New Hampshire and the first person to officially jump into the race for governor

New Hampshire Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, shown here during an Executive Council meeting at the State House, March 22, 2023.Cheryl Senter for The Boston Globe

CONCORD, N.H. — Cinde Warmington, the lone Democrat on New Hampshire’s five-member Executive Council, announced Thursday the launch of her 2024 bid for governor, saying her campaign aims to make the state “a place where everyone is free to thrive.”

Warmington is the first declared candidate, but she’s not the first to signal strongly that she plans to run. A fellow Democrat, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, launched an exploratory committee for the job one month ago. And former state Senate President Chuck Morse, a Republican, has confirmed that he’s laying the groundwork for a possible gubernatorial bid — that is, if current Governor Chris Sununu doesn’t seek a fifth two-year term.

In announcing her candidacy, Warmington called for a “kickstart” to the state’s job training and housing construction to boost business and a young workforce. She also called for mental and behavioral health care, and she said the state should enshrine abortion rights into law.

“New Hampshire is such a great state, but we can’t keep ignoring our challenges,” she said. “We’ve had enough extremist battles. It’s time to put people over politics.”

Warmington announced support from more than 100 current and former elected officials and community leaders, which she said included moderates and progressives. That list includes three current state senators, five former state senators, two former speakers of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, four mayors, two sheriffs, and many others.

Former congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter of Rochester said Warmington has “an unparalleled understanding of how our state government works and what needs to be done” and “has been the last line of defense against Republican extremists.”

Republicans responded to Warmington’s announcement by calling her “a Concord Liberal elitist” and defending the track record of Sununu and Republicans in the State House.

“We passed tax cuts, balanced budgets, and delivered on school choice,” said New Hampshire GOP Chairman Chris Ager. “We listened to the people, and put them first.”