CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire’s Republican Gov. Chris Sununu defeated state Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes on Tuesday to win a third, two-year term.

Sununu has enjoyed widespread support for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and overcame his opponent’s efforts to tie him to President Donald Trump.

While Democrats held majorities at the Statehouse during Sununu’s second term, he made lavish use of his veto pen, often blocking bills sponsored by his opponent. He twice vetoed Feltes’ paid family and medical leave proposals, which he called an income tax.

Feltes denied that characterization, and argued that unlike Sununu, he was running to help working families, not out of a sense of entitlement. Sununu’s father served as governor in the 1980s, and his brother served in Congress.

Libertarian Darryl Perry also was on the ballot.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Republican Gov. Chris Sununu faces Democrat Dan Feltes on Tuesday after a campaign in which the candidates questioned each other’s loyalty and leadership skills.

Sununu, who is seeking a third, two-year term, ran on his experience as a manager, including leading the state during the coronavirus pandemic. But Feltes argued that Sununu didn’t do enough to protect nursing home residents or schoolchildren.

The two frequently were at odds at the Statehouse, where Feltes has represented Concord in the state Senate for three terms, most recently as majority leader. Sununu vetoed several of his challenger’s key initiatives, including a paid family and medical leave program he characterized as an income tax.

Feltes, a former legal aid lawyer, sought to portray Sununu as out of touch with the needs of working families, contrasting his upbringing in a blue-collar family with Sununu, whose political family includes a father who was governor in the 1980s and a brother who served in Congress and whose family owns Waterville Valley ski area. And he relentlessly tried to link Sununu to President Donald Trump, reminding voters that Sununu once called himself “a Trump guy through and through.”

Sununu, meanwhile, defended his family’s record of public service and said he was proud to work as the ski area’s general manager before being elected to the Executive Council and later governor. He said Feltes' background includes no management or leadership experience.

Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court brought health care to the forefront of the campaign in its final days. Feltes emphasized Sununu's past opposition to the Affordable Care Act, though the governor did sign on this year to a multi-state effort to defend the Obama-era health care law in court.

Now 45, Sununu was the youngest top executive in the country when he took office in 2017 at age 42. He was reelected in 2018 by defeating Democrat Molly Kelly 58-46%.

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