New Hampshire political analyst Dean Spiliotes said Ayotte is definitely a rising star, but it’s unclear how she will do out on the stump. As New Hampshire’s nonpartisan attorney general for the past five years, Ayotte’s national profile was largely defined by a case she took to the Supreme Court, successfully defending New Hampshire’s parental-notification law for abortions.

“She’s young, she’s got a nice family, two little kids, married, photogenic, articulate, etc…” Spiliotes said. “All the things you want in a candidate. And she’s fresh. A lot of other Republican candidates have already lost other races. The flip side is, we don’t know much about her as a campaigner.”

There are small glimpses of what Ayotte might look like on the trail. Last week, she made her first public appearance since resigning, where she charmed local Republicans in Wolfeboro with her commitment to gun rights and condemnation of abortion, stimulus spending, and nontraditional marriage—views Republicans were anxious to hear her express. She “struck a local note,” according to one publication, by saying she formed her political approach as a busgirl at a local restaurant, Mame’s.