Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte says that the transition process between her incoming administration and that of current Gov. Chris Sununu is underway.

“We’ve already met several times,” Ayotte said from her transition office in Concord, just over a week after her sweeping victory over Democratic nominee and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig.

Ayotte, a former state attorney general who later served six years in the U.S. Senate, will succeed fellow Republican Sununu in the corner office in just under eight weeks when she’s inaugurated at the State House.

As she ran for governor, Ayotte campaigned on continuing Sununu’s agenda in steering New Hampshire.

“I think Gov. Sununu has done an excellent job for the state of New Hampshire. We’re leading the nation in so many metrics,” she highlighted.

“The thing that I love most about Gov. Sununu is the passion, the positive enthusiasm that he brings for this state. He loves this state. He’s so proud of New Hampshire,” she added.

Those are the footsteps she wants to follow.

“I’m going to bring that same attitude as governor, really being a champion for the people of New Hampshire,” she said. “We have so many phenomenal people in this state. We have a great state. We emphasize freedom. We have a lower tax burden and we have so much opportunity in New Hampshire. So, I just look forward to following up.”

Another thing she plans to continue is what Sununu called 603 Days, where he visits parts of the state to showcase what it has to offer, from recreation to business.

“I will continue to champion the people of this state.” Ayotte said. “Obviously, we are different people, but I share his philosophy on the economic prosperity of the state and the emphasis on personal and economic freedom.”

A top item on Ayotte’s to-do list when she takes over as governor is putting together the state’s next two-year budget, which she’ll present to state lawmakers in February. Ayotte sat next to Sununu this week as the incumbent governor kicked off three days of budget presentations by state commissioners and other agency heads. The governor-elect has also sat down with Sununu’s budget director.

While the current budget has what’s described as a healthy surplus, Sununu warned that the state faces fiscally leaner times in the next year, as federal dollars to the state from COVID relief funding expires.

“We’re going to manage this budget. We’re going to make sure that we stay within our revenues, our means. We’re not going to pass anything on locally to people in terms of tax increases,” Ayotte said.

She said government spending will reflect the people who fund it.

“I understand very much that people are struggling right now with the impacts of inflation and that we have to manage the state budget,” Ayotte said. “We’ll do that in a way that makes sure that the government still serves the people well.”

Ayotte promised to look for efficiencies to be gained in state government. Ten years ago, former governor Maggie Hassan had asked all state agency heads to deliver efficiency proposals to her office, but she never made them public. She cited executive privilege and denied the Monitor’s request to see how the state’s top employees thought government services and spending could be improved.

“We’ll look for ways to do things better in serving people,” Ayotte said. “That’s some of the experience I bring from the private sector. And I’m already rolling up my sleeves and really looking forward to putting together a responsible budget.”

While the budget is an immediate priority, Ayotte said she also plans to focus on economic issues, education, mental health and housing.

Ayotte’s election was far from the only major victory for New Hampshire Republicans.

They expanded their majority in the state Senate to 16-8 over the Democrats, and to 222-178 in the state House of Representatives, barring any changes from recounts.

Among the items the incoming legislature with larger GOP majorities may send to the corner office are a parental bill of rights, which went down to defeat in 2021 and 2023, and expanding the state’s Education Freedom Accounts.

“On the campaign trail I talked about the importance of parents being informed of what’s happening not only in our schools but with our children,” Ayotte said. “So, I do support making sure parents are aware and have knowledge so that they can act in the best interests of their children.”

The Education Freedom Accounts, which allow lower-income families to use public school funding to pay for private school or home-school expenses, have been expanded once since Sununu signed them into law three years ago.

“I’ve seen the impact of the Education Freedom Accounts give families the opportunity to put their child in the best setting for their child to succeed,” Ayotte said.

The governor-elect noted that she was educated in public schools.

“Public schools are so important in this state,” Ayotte said. “And I will definitely be emphasizing the importance of teachers and curriculum in our public schools.”

She said she values other venues like charter schools and homeschooling as viable options “that allow children to succeed when they’re not succeeding in the public schools.”

One potential piece of legislation that Ayotte may not potentially embrace is the redrawing of New Hampshire’s two U.S. House districts. It’s been a decade since Republicans last won a congressional election in New Hampshire. A redistricting push earlier this decade by GOP state lawmakers was nixed by Sununu.

Asked about the possibility of a new piece of redistricting legislation coming her way, Ayotte didn’t indicate that it would be a focus.

“We’re already five years into the census here. I think that the timing of this is off to me. Normally this is done at the beginning of the census,” she said.