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From: New Hampshire Democratic Party
To: Interested Parties
Contact: Monica Venzke
OVERVIEW: Yesterday, despite inclement weather, Granite State Democrats were elected in droves in towns all over New Hampshire. From Selectmen to School Board, Granite Staters elected strong, responsible leaders to uphold our New Hampshire values and rejected extremism in many forms.
Free State Republicans were defeated all over the state — even in places that are supposed to be their strongholds.
Jody Underwood, Free Stater and "mastermind" behind the Republican attempt to defund Croydon's public school budget, lost her re-election bid for Croydon School Board by a staggering margin — 229 to 36 votes.
Jonathan Smith, the Free State Republican state representative in Ossipee, lost his race for Board of Selectmen.
In Derry, Free State Republican Michael Layon lost his bid for School Board, and the first openly trans leader in Derry — Cairnie Pokorney — was elected.
Warrant articles that went against our Democracy failed, and warrant articles that fought to uphold our Democracy passed.
In Wolfeboro, a warrant article that would ensure no town funding is expended to ban books passed by 72.2%. This warrant article is in direct response to Rep. Cordelli’s (R-Wolfeboro) school library book-banning legislation — HB 514.
In Sandown, the warrant article to ban voting machines was defeated handily.
These wins are the latest in a series of recent Democratic victories. With more special elections and municipal races on the horizon, it’s clear already that 2023 is going to be a great year for Granite State Democrats.
Last month, Rep. Chuck Grassie was re-elected in a special election following a tie in November of last year. He outperformed Democratic performance in the 2022 and 2020 elections. Over a third of the ward’s registered voters turned out for this special election, which is an incredible turnout for a State House special election.
This follows the huge victories in last year’s midterm elections, where despite predictions that suggested these would be extremely tight races, Senator Maggie Hassan, Congresswoman Kuster, and Congressman Pappas all won their reelection bids by staggering margins.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Yet again, Granite Staters used their votes to reject the NH GOP and their extremist ideals. New Hampshire Republicans are running on out-of-touch anti-public education and anti-voting rights platforms — and they are losing. Going into the rest of local elections this year, it’s clear that Granite State Democrats are building upon the momentum of 2022 and are poised to continue to win big.