Ayotte's Senate rival trying to hang Trump around her neck

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte casts herself as independent, focused on New Hampshire over party politics in her re-election bid.

Ayotte's rival, Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, pounced even before the dust had settled this past week in Trump's newly clear path to the Republican presidential nomination.

Ayotte repeatedly has said she'll support the eventual GOP nominee, but on Trump's first official day as the presumptive nominee her campaign offered a tortured response.

New Hampshire tilts Democratic in presidential years, and polling shows Trump is deeply unpopular among New Hampshire voters, including the independents Ayotte desperately needs to support her.

Among voters, Paula Tate-Moreau of Lee, New Hampshire, called Trump a "loose cannon," but said she'll likely split her ticket in November with votes for likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Ayotte.

Filmed in Hassan's home, she speaks about Ben's first day of school and the people who have helped him integrate into society — a message in stark contrast to the divisiveness of the 2016 campaign.

A recent University of New Hampshire poll that shows 60 percent of people favor a vote on Judge Merrick Garland also shows a drop in Ayotte's overall favorability.