'Run, Hillary, Run!'

Half of New Hampshire's all-female congressional delegation said Friday they'd like to see Hillary Clinton run for president in 2016.

U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte, U.S. Reps.-Elect Annie Kuster and Carol Shea-Porter and Gov.-Elect Maggie Hassan all appeared Friday at an event for "New Hampshire's First in the Nation Women" at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Manchester. New Hampshire is the first state to have an all-female congressional delegation.

Near the end of the program, all of the panelists were asked when they expect to see a woman president of the United States, and if they might be that person.

"Maybe 2016, if Hillary runs," said Shaheen.

Shea-Porter quickly echoed that sentiment, saying "Run, Hillary, run!"

Meanwhile, Ayotte, the only Republican of the bunch, downplayed talk that she might one day run for president, saying it's more likely her 8-year-old daughter will be the one to run.

She first mentioned the possibility of running for president while telling a story early in the program about how her daughter Kate told her that she doesn't want her mom to run for president.

Why? Because Ayotte's daughter wants to be the first woman president. Ayotte said she told her daughter not to worry, saying, "That's not going to happen. No chance."

But Ayotte said she "absolutely" thinks we'll have a woman president. "I hope it will certainly be in our lifetime."

Ayotte, Shaheen, Kuster, Shea-Porter and Hassan touched on many issues during the panel discussion hosted by the Greater Manchester chamber, including their key priorities.

Both Ayotte and Shaheen said the top priority is addressing the country's $16 trillion debt.

"It's time for us to do a big fiscal deal in Washington that really drives down the trajectory of our debt," said Ayotte.

"We need to come up with a deal that keeps us from automatic spending cuts," added Shaheen.

The five panelists also spent a considerable amount of time reflecting on the importance of having the country's first all-female congressional delegation.

"I think it is significant," Shaheen said. "How exciting that New Hampshire is leading the way.

"Hopefully," she added, "we'll get to a point where it's no longer significant."

"The good thing about having firsts is it won't be the last," Ayotte said. "Young women coming up know that anything is possible, anything they set their mind to they can do."

"Pink is the new power color in New Hampshire," added Kuster.

But Shaheen also stressed that more women need to run for office, at all levels of government.

"We're going to get more women elected to office when more run for office..." she said. "Tell them to run, because that's how we're going to get a woman president."