Republican candidate for governor Kelly Ayotte outraised her Democratic opponent, Joyce Craig, by nearly $7 million since each won their party primaries on Sept. 10 – largely thanks to Live Free PAC, a political action committee funded by the Republican Governors Association.

The PAC bolstered Ayotte’s fundraising by $7.4 million this filing period, bringing her total in the past month to almost $9.6 million. Craig raised about $2.7 million.

Craig’s campaign, however, has a decisive edge with individual donations: 6,794 contributors compared to Ayotte’s 665.

The Live Free PAC, which has spent smaller amounts on polling and advertising since its creation in 2018, grew drastically this year. Ayotte’s received $11.7 million from the PAC, and the New Hampshire Republican State Committee has received $4 million. The Republican Governors Association, which supports campaigns across the country, has funneled $16.5 million into the Live Free PAC this election cycle.

Craig received about $932,000 – roughly a third of her fundraising this month – from the Democratic Governors Association.

Each candidate spent the vast majority of their funding on advertising, with Ayotte spending $7.7 million and Craig spending $2.2 million. Much of it has been negative, and they continue to attack each other on the campaign trail. Ayotte goes after Craig’s record in Manchester and a perceived threat of higher taxes, while Craig attacks Ayotte’s record on abortion and her role on the board of a corporate landlord.

The latest poll from Saint Anselm College, released Oct. 3, shows the governor’s race is still close with Ayotte leading Craig, 47% to 44%. Both of them have negative favorability ratings, although Ayotte’s has improved while Craig’s has slipped.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.