Kelly Ayotte '93, First VLS Grad elected to U.S. Senate
Kelly Ayotte '93 was overwhelmingly elected to the U.S Senate from New Hampshire. Ayotte succeeds retiring Republican Senator Judd Gregg. Prior to her run for Senate, Ayotte served for five years as the first female Attorney General in New Hampshire. During her tenure as Attorney General, she earned a reputation as a tough-on-crime prosecutor. That reputation was built in large part on her deft handling of the case against teenagers charged with murdering two Dartmouth professors. The Union Leader named Ayotte Citizen of the year 2008. Ayotte also argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, successfully defending New Hampshire's parental notification law. Prior to serving as Attorney General, Ayotte served as Deputy Attorney General and Chief of the Homicide Unit, where she led the prosecution of numerous murder cases. Ayotte earned her J.D from Villanova University School of Law in 1993. She graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a degree in political science. During her third year at Villanova Law, Ayotte served as Executive Editor of the Environmental Law Journal. Following law school, Ayotte clerked for the Honorable Sherman D. Horton, Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
