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Overview: Last night, NH Democrats once again bucked national trends and won big in municipal elections throughout the Granite State -- with key mayoral victories in Manchester, the state’s biggest city, and Laconia, one of the state’s reddest cities. Democrats also flipped the Mayor’s office in Portsmouth and Claremont. Democrats were elected at the city wide level in all eleven cities that had elections last night, and now run eleven of New Hampshire’s thirteen cities. While results are still being collected it is clear that a historic number of women were elected throughout the Granite State and in Portsmouth, Joanna Kelley was elected the first BIPOC assistant mayor in New Hampshire history.
Democrats Won in Deep Red Territory
Mayor Andrew Hosmer was re-elected in Laconia, NH — which Donald Trump won by nearly 6 points — in a 46 point landslide in what is a clear sign of Democratic momentum in the Granite State.
In Laconia, Democrats won two out of three school board races -- one of them being at large with Jennifer Anderson winning 70% of the vote.
Democrats up and down the ballot won big on November 3rd from School Board to Mayor
In Manchester, Democrats flipped aldermen seats in wards 4, 7, and 12.
In Dover, Democrats won nearly every race from school board to mayor.
In Claremont, one of NH’s swing cities, Democrats’ Mayoral victory flipped the seat from red to blue along with resounding Democratic victories at the city council level.
Historic Wins in for Women and People of Color in Manchester, Portsmouth, and Nashua
Mayor Joyce Craig was re-elected to a historic third term in Manchester. This is the first time a Democrat has won a third term in Manchester since 2003, and she is the first Democratic mayor to be re-elected while a Democratic president was in office in decades. Sununu put serious political capital on the line by endorsing Mayor Craig’s Republican opponent, Victoria Sullivan.
Portsmouth’s Mayor flipped from red to blue, and Joanna Kelley was elected the first BIPOC assistant mayor in New Hampshire history.
In Nashua, Shoshanna Kelley and Gloria Timmons -- two women of color -- were elected to Alderman at-large seats.
A Strong Municipal Election Showing After Three Consecutive Special Election Wins Shows Pattern of Democratic Victories Throughout the Granite State
In the past three NH House special elections, Representative Muriel Hall, Representative Catherine Rombeau, and Representative-Elect Andrew Maneval show that Democratic candidates are winning big from traditional Republican districts to swing communities to rural districts throughout the Granite State -- defying expectations and outperforming President Biden.
Most recently in Representative-Elect Andrew Maneval’s race, New Hampshire Democrats outperformed 2020 President Biden’s strong victory by nearly 7%.
In September, Representative Catherine Rombeau flipped a R+5 district with a 12% GOP registration advantage. This was the first legislative special election red-to-blue flip in the country.
In June, Representative Muriel Hall out ran President Biden in Bow and Dunbarton. President Biden won by 11% and Hall won by 15.7% -- meaning Hall won by more than 4% than Biden did in 2020. The district also contains 5% more registered Republicans than registered Democrats.
Historically, NH Democrats Have Bucked National Trends, Winning Big in Tough Midterms & in 2016
In cycles that are not favorable to Democrats nationally, New Hampshire Democrats have consistently outperformed national trends and won.
In what was nationally a wave year for Republicans in 2016, Senator Maggie Hassan won her first term unseating incumbent Kelly Ayotte and for the first time New Hampshire elected an all woman, all Democratic federal delegation.
In 2014, then Governor Hassan -- despite being outspent by a large margin -- won re-elect in an unfavorable year for Democrats and Senator Shaheen also bucked national trends, winning re-election and defeating Scott Brown.
Key Takeaways:
Democrats are winning big all over the state -- from Berlin to Manchester to Portsmouth -- because voters are turning out in support of public education, reproductive health care, and a responsible pandemic response. This shows clear momentum for the 2022 midterm elections.
Voters are rejecting and will continue to reject Chris Sununu and the NH GOP’s disgraceful agenda which includes putting an abortion ban into the state budget, pushing an extreme school voucher program, and consistently buying into dangerous anti-vax conspiracy theories. Every time voters have a chance to hold the NH GOP accountable, they show up in droves.
This is demonstrated by the past three special elections where Representative Muriel Hall, Representative Catherine Rombeau, and Representative-Elect Andrew Maneval all won big, defying expectations and outperforming President Biden. All signs point to this momentum continuing to build.