Table Set For Elections This Fall In New Hampshire

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH

CONCORD, NH — The candidate filing period for elective office in the state ended on Friday at 5 p.m. at the Secretary of State's office.

The table is now set for Republican and Democratic primaries on Sept. 8, with the winners facing off in a general election on Nov. 3.

Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Nashua resident, will face Republican challengers Shaun Fife of Gilmanton and Bob Wayne McClory of Goffstown in the primary.

Democrat Cinde Warmington of Concord, a former executive councilor who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor two years ago, is running unopposed in the primary for governor.

For the seat of United States Senator, being vacated by the retiring Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of Madbury, Democrats will choose from U.S. Congressman Chris Pappas of Manchester, David Jarvis of Manchester, Karishma Manzur of Exeter, Maxwell Saal of Walpole, and John Vail of Easton.

Filing as a Republican for the open U.S. Senate seat are Tom Alciere of Hudson, Scott P. Brown of Rye, Sky Danley of Portsmouth, Andy Martin of Manchester, Mary Maxwell of Concord, Richard A. McMenamon II of Gilmanton, Sabrina Ann Smith of Pittsfield, and John E. Sununu of Rye.

With Pappas vacating the District 1 Congressional seat to seek a six-year term in the U.S. Senate, the field for that position includes six Republicans and nine Democrats.

The Republican primary will see Lindsey Anderson of Moultonborough, Melissa Bailey of Bedford, Michael Anthony Callis of Conway, Brian D. Cole of Manchester, Anthony DiLorenzo of Portsmouth, and Hollie Noveletsky of Newfields vying for the nomination.

On the Democratic side for District 1 Congress, the primary candidates filed are Carleigh Beriont of Hampton, Sarah E. Chadzynski of Lyndeborough, Bill Conlin of Dover, Matthew Emerson of Conway, Heath Howard of Strafford, Stefany Amber Shaheen of Portsmouth, Sarah Bella Spinosa of Manchester, Maura C. Sullivan of New Castle, and Christian Urrutia of Moultonborough.

In the District 2 Congressional race, incumbent Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat, will seek re-election and be challenged by Democrat Paige Beauchemin, also of Nashua.

On the Republican side, the District 2 primary will feature Dan Nicholson of Nashua, Victor Orlando of Hollis, and Lily Tang Williams of Weare.

Executive Council

The Executive Council race features all four Republican incumbents and one Democrat filing for another two-year term, and many challenges from others in the other party. There are only two primary races.

District 1 Executive Councilor Joseph D. Kenney of Wakefield, a Republican, is unopposed in the primary. Democrat Luz Bay of Dover has filed for that seat as well and will also be unopposed in the primary.

District 2 Democrat Karen Liot Hill of Lebanon is running for re-election and is also unopposed in the primary. She will face either Republican Tobin Menard of Newport or Kim Strathdee of Plymouth in the general election.

Janet Stevens, R-Rye has also filed for re-election for District 3 and will face Gregory Whirley of Derry in the Republican primary. The winner of that race will face Democrat Lisa Kennedy Sheldon of Portsmouth, a Democrat who is unopposed in the primary.

Incumbent John Stephen, R-Manchester, has filed for re-election as District 4 Executive Councilor and will face Harriet Cady of Deerfield and Terese Bastarache of Loudon in the primary.

The winner of the District 4 Republican primary for Executive Council will face Democrat Jim O'Connell of Manchester, who is unopposed in the primary.

District 5 Executive Councilor Dave Wheeler of Milford is running unopposed in the primary but will face Democrat Melanie Levesque of Brookline in the general election.

State Senate

With the exception of two retiring State Senators, Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua, and Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard, all 22 other incumbents have filed for re-election, and most do not have primary challenges.

But they all face competition in the general election, with the exception of State Senator Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, who is unopposed, and Rebecca Perkins Kwoka of Portsmouth, a Democrat and the Senate Minority Leader.

District 1 incumbent David Rochefort of Littleton, a Republican, is unopposed in the primary but will face Cathleen Fountain of Dalton, a Democrat, in the general election.

District 2 incumbent Timothy P. Lang of Sanbornton is unopposed in the primary but will face Kurt Webber of Gilford, a Democrat, in the general election.

District 3 incumbent Mark McConkey of Freedom is unopposed in the Republican primary and will face Bobbi Boudman of Wolfeboro, a Democrat, in the general election.

District 4 incumbent David Watters of Dover, a Democrat, is unopposed in the primary but will face Shawn Mickelonis of Dover in the general election.

District 5 incumbent Suzanne Prentiss of Lebanon, a Democrat, is unopposed in the primary but will face Republican Conrad Schoeffter of Plainfield in the general election.

District 6 State Senate incumbent James P. Gray of Rochester is unopposed in the primary but will face Cecil Abels of Rochester, a Democrat, in the general election.

District 7 incumbent Daniel E. Innis of Bradford, a Republican, is unopposed in the primary and will face in the general election Rebecca Harned of Sutton, a Democrat, who is also unopposed in the primary.

District 8 will see no primary competition, but David Trumble of Weare, a Democrat, will vie against Jim Creighton of Antrim, a Republican, for a seat being vacated by the retiring State Senator Ruth Ward of Stoddard.

District 9 Republican incumbent Denise Ricciardi of Bedford is unopposed in the primary but will face Democrat challenger Matthew McLaughlin of Bedford in the general election.

District 10 Democrat Donovan Fenton of Keene, the incumbent, faces no challengers in the primary or on the Republican side in the general election.

District 11 incumbent Tim McGough of Merrimack, a Republican, has no primary challenger but will face Democrat Shannon Chandley of Amherst in the general election.

District 12 incumbent Kevin Avard of Nashua has filed for re-election and will face Carryl L. Roy of Hollis, a Democrat, in the general election.

District 13 incumbent Cindy Rosenwald, a Nashua Democrat, is retiring. Laura Telerski of Nashua, a Democrat, has filed to replace her and has no primary opponent. She will face Daniel J. Paul of Nashua in the general election.

District 14 incumbent and Senate President Sharon M. Carson of Londonderry, a Republican, has no primary challenger but will face Timothy Wyatt of Hudson, a Democrat who is also unopposed in the primary.

District 15 incumbent Tara Reardon of Concord, a Democrat, has no primary challenge but will face Dennis Blankenbeker of Concord, a Republican, in the general election.

District 16 has primary competition in both parties.

Incumbent Keith Murphy, R-Manchester, is running for re-election and faces Anthony Clements of Raymond in the Republican primary. The winner of that race will face the winner of the Democratic primary. That is either Dave DePuy of Candia or Dian McCarthy of Goffstown, both Democrats.

District 17 incumbent Howard Pearl, R-Loudon, has a Republican primary challenger, Julie Smith of Epsom. The winner of that contest will face Robert Lawliss of Pembroke, a Democrat who is unopposed in the primary.

District 18 incumbent Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, is running unopposed in the primary for re-election. She will face Democrat Leonard Bell of Manchester in the general election.

District 19 incumbent Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, is unopposed in the Republican primary. She will compete against Democrat Michelle Moge of Derry in the general election.

District 20 incumbent Pat T. Long of Manchester, a Democrat, has a primary challenge from Matthew Ping of Manchester. The winner of that primary will face Republican Patrick Binder of Manchester in the general election.

District 21 incumbent Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, the Senate minority leader from Portsmouth, is unopposed in the Democratic primary and the general election.

District 22 incumbent Daryl Abbas, R-Salem, is running unopposed in the Republican primary. He will face Chris Tardif of Atkinson, a Democrat, in the general election.

District 23 incumbent Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, is running unopposed in the primary but will face David Childs of South Hampton, a Democrat, in the general election.

Finally, District 24 incumbent Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, is unopposed in the primary but will face
Lou Gargiulo of Hampton Falls in the general election.

The fall election season will also see all 400 seats in the House of Representatives up for grabs.

For a look at all the cumulative filings for those seats along with others for county positions, check this link for details https://www.sos.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt561/files/inline-documents/sonh/cumulative-filings-6.12.26-2.pdf

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.