Retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) is scheduled to host a fundraising lunch Wednesday for former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R), whom the National Republican Senatorial Committee recruited to run for his open seat in 2010.Some New Hampshire Republicans have criticized Ayotte for being handpicked by Senate Republicans to run for Gregg’s seat, and so Ayotte has been careful not to appear as the establishment candidate — even declining to ask NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) for an endorsement. Since her announcement this summer, several Republicans — the most prominent being 1996 gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne — have announced they will run for the seat in next September’s primary as well.Although Gregg has not officially endorsed Ayotte, this is not the first time that he has asked his donors to help her out. Gregg penned a fundraising letter last month asking donors to give to the candidate, whom he described as a “common sense, conservative voice from New Hampshire.—“It is critical that New Hampshire send a strong, conservative and effective individual to the United States Senate in 2011,— Gregg wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Roll Call. “Fortunately we have such a candidate in Kelly Ayotte.—Wednesday’s fundraiser, which boasts ticket prices from $500 to $2,000, is scheduled for noon at 101 Constitution Ave, NW — a stone’s throw away from the Capitol.