New Hampshire Democratic Party : EQUAL PAY WEEK: 7 in 10 Granite State Minimum Wage Workers Are Women, But Kelly Ayotte Sided With Koch Brothers & Voted Against Giving Them A Raise

Concord, N.H. - Today, the New Hampshire Democratic Party continues to mark this week's anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act by highlighting another way in which Kelly Ayotte sided with the Koch Brothers over the interests of working women in New Hampshire. Nearly 7 of 10 Granite State minimum wage workers are women, but Kelly Ayotte voted against giving them a much-needed raise because the Koch Brothers told her to.

In 2014, the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity urged Senators to vote against a measure to raise the minimum wage to $10.10, and Kelly Ayotte turned her back on her constituents and obliged.

In fact, a recent poll found that 70% of Granite State voters support raising the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour, but on this issue among many others, Kelly Ayotte puts the wishes of her special interest backers before the wishes of the people she was elected to represent.

And she's not the only one. Every single Republican presidential candidate opposes a minimum wage increase. Marco Rubio called a minimum wage increase a 'waste of time,' Chris Christie said he was 'tired of hearing' about the issue, and Jeb Bush suggested there should be no federal minimum wage at all.

'On vote after vote, including her opposition to giving hard-working Granite State women and families a raise by modestly increasing the minimum wage, Kelly Ayotte puts the Koch Brothers and special interests ahead of the priorities of her constituents,' said New Hampshire Democratic Party Press Secretary Melissa Miller. 'Raising the minimum wage is a widely-supported move that would have a real impact on the economic wellbeing of women across the Granite State, but Kelly Ayotte decided the wishes of the Koch Brothers were more important than these women and their families.'

Background:
Based On An Analysis Of 2014 Data From The Bureau Of Labor Statistics, About 7 In 10 Minimum Wage Workers In New Hampshire Are Women. 'Today NWLC released new analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014 data, featuring an interactive map that shows the share of minimum wage workers in each state who are women…In New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Maine, about seven in ten minimum wage workers were women.' [National Women's Law Center, 5/20/15]

April 30, 2014: Ayotte Voted Against Increasing The Federal Minimum Wage To $10.10.'The U.S. Senate bill would have raised the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, but it didn't cross the 60-vote threshold for passage on a vote of 54-42. U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte , a Republican, voted against the bill.' [Concord Monitor, 4/30/14;CQ, 4/30/14; S. 2223, Vote 117, 4/30/14]

April 29, 2014: AFP Urged Senators To Vote Against Increasing The Federal Minimum Wage To $10.10. 'Dear Senators: On behalf of more than two million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I write to urge you to vote NO on S. 2223, increasing the minimum wage to from $7.25 to $10.10. This is a misguided policy that will mean fewer jobs in this sluggish economy.' [Americans For Prosperity Scorecard, 4/29/14]

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