While the eyes of the nation may have moved on from New Hampshire — after voters there spent most of a year courted by the country’s media and political elite — it would be fair to assume that politics quieted down in the Granite State.

Despite the first-in-the-nation presidential primary’s end more than half-a-year ago, that assumption would be wrong.

For the past few months at least, Granite State voters have witnessed a slobberknocker of a gubernatorial primary contest which will only come to a partial conclusion with the state primary on Sept. 10, with more than a month of mud slinging sure to follow in the multi-million dollar races for the best seat in Concord.

On the Republican side, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte has entered an all out brawl with the state’s former Senate President, Chuck Morse, with the campaign rhetoric heating up on both sides.

Morse says Ayotte has voted with Democrats too often, and they bailed on Trump in 2016. A six-figure ad-buy his campaign pushed out via social media and streaming services in July attacked the former senator as untrustworthy and paint Morse as a “proven conservative.”

According to Ayotte’s campaign staff, Morse has gone negative against her because of how far behind he is.

“Phony Chuck Morse has been running a negative campaign for more than a year because he is losing,” campaign spokesman John Corbett told the Herald.

“The truth is, Morse killed a sanctuary city ban in New Hampshire, voted multiple times against constitutional carry, and let criminals walk free with disastrous bail reform. In a little over a week, Phony Chuck’s sad campaign will come to a close,” he said.

Ayotte told the Herald she’s more focused on what a democratic governor could do to the state than worried about Morse.

“Every day on the campaign trail, I hear from voters who are worried our state is one election away from becoming Massachusetts, with higher taxes and sanctuary policies. I’m focused on earning their trust to stop my opponents from MASSing up New Hampshire and keep our wonderful state safe, prosperous and free,” she said in an emailed statement.

During a recent debate, Morse reiterated the points made in his advertisements, accusing Ayotte of being a liberal in conservative clothing, and citing as proof her senate voting record. By his count, while in Washington D.C. she’d crossed the aisle more than 250 times.

“She voted to grant amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants, and she voted against school choice for low-income families. And in 2016, she couldn’t support our nominee for president, Donald Trump,” he said.

Ayotte had endorsed Trump ahead of the 2016 election but publicly rescinded that support after the release of the Access Hollywood tape, on which Trump boasted of supposedly being able to kiss and grab women without their consent, because “when you’re a star, they let you do it.”

The former senator has since said she will support the 45th President’s campaign. She told WMUR in April that he was the “right choice for the White House.”

Trump has not announced an endorsement in the primary.

Ayotte is dominating the money game. According to campaign finance reports filed with the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office, she’s raised nearly $6 million to Morse’s about $1.4 million.

On the Democratic side, former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig has been the focus of Ayotte’s attacks for some time, despite her race against former lobbyist and Executive Council member Cinde Warmington being far from over or a sure bet.

According to polling done by the University of New Hampshire, “Kelly Ayotte holds a wide lead over Chuck Morse in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination for governor in New Hampshire, while Joyce Craig holds a slight advantage over Cinde Warmington on the Democratic side.”

Craig and Warmington are nearly tied in the money race too. Finance reports show Craig has raised $2.8 million and spent $2.2 million. Warmington’s campaign reports show her raising $2.3 million and spending all but $152,564.

The Democratic candidates had been running a mostly positive campaign, that is until about a week ago.

Warmington worked in lobbying for Purdue Pharma, and according to NH Journal in late July Craig’s campaign launched an attack accusing her opponent of “profiting off the opioid crisis.”

“Warmington was paid to defend OxyContin, calling it ‘a miracle drug,’ after we knew it was addictive. Then Warmington worked for a disgraced pain clinic that made millions hooking people on opioids,” the ad claims.

Over the weekend, Warmington pushed back, telling WMUR that “it’s a shame that Joyce Craig has dragged this campaign into the gutter.”

“What she is doing is really deceptive and dividing Democrats at a time when we need to be focused on beating Kelly Ayotte,” Warmington said. “Kelly Ayotte is a real threat to this state.”

Former Senate President Chuck Morse (AP file)