Story highlights Sen. Kelly Ayotte says she 'made a mistake' in calling Donald Trump a role model

Ayotte is pitching herself as a Republican check on a Hillary Clinton presidency

(CNN) New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte has dropped Donald Trump -- and now, facing a tough re-election challenge, she is making the case that she'd be a check on Hillary Clinton in Washington.

Ayotte, the first-term Republican who's trailing Democratic challenger Maggie Hassan in the polls, all but admitted that Clinton is poised to win the White House on Monday.

"There's so much at stake in this presidential election: the Supreme Court, our national security, so many issues that matter to people of this state," Ayotte told CNN's Manu Raju in an interview.

"And Gov. Hassan is going to essentially follow Hillary Clinton's lead on all of them, where I'm going to stand up to her when she's not taking us in the right direction," Ayotte said.

Her comments come as Democrats -- who hope to win control of the Senate and narrow the GOP's House majority on November 8 -- try to make sure it's not easy for Republicans like Ayotte to back away from a nominee they'd supported for months.

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