Kelly Ayotte Campaigned at a School with State Rep. Who Called 16-Year-Old Girls “Ripe” and “Fertile”

Kelly Ayotte Campaigned at a School with State Rep. Who Called 16-Year-Old Girls “Ripe” and “Fertile” 

Last week, the New Hampshire state legislature successfully passed a law to raise the legal age of marriage from 16 to 18. While Democrats secured the passage of this bill, 174 Republican state legislators voted against the measure, including State Representative Jess Edwards, a proud endorser of former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte’s campaign for governor.

According to a report from the Granite Post, Rep. Edwards fought against this long-overdue bill  in favor of the current law because 16 year olds are “of ripe, fertile age.”

These comments come after Edwards was an early endorser of Ayotte’s campaign for governor, and after the two campaigned together at a school earlier this year.

This is just the latest instance of Ayotte finding herself tied to some of the most extreme and dangerous figures in New Hampshire politics. Just last weekend, in an interview on WMUR’s CloseUp, Ayotte refused to renounce the endorsement she received from state Rep. Jon Stone after it was revealed that he “threatened to kill fellow police officers in a shooting spree, and murder his chief after raping the chief’s wife and children, all while he was already under scrutiny for his inappropriate relationship with a teen girl.”

“Every time one of Kelly Ayotte’s extremist endorsers makes the news, it’s a reminder of all the reasons Granite Staters cannot trust her as governor,” said DGA States Press Secretary Emma O’Brien. “Rep. Edwards’ comments are creepy and disgusting, and Ayotte should condemn them immediately. But we won’t hold our breath — Ayotte has already shown at every turn that she’s more focused on catering to extremists than keeping families safe, and that New Hampshire families cannot trust her to do what is right.”

Learn more about Ayotte’s growing list of extreme endorsers here.

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