NH Democrats Launch Slate of State Senate Candidates

CONCORD, NH - On the first day of filing for state political offices, 25 Democrats filed to run for 23 state Senate seats, as the political party attempts to wrestle back control of the body from the NH GOP.

Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn, D-Whitefield, called the slate “exceptionally strong roster of candidates” that has the party “very optimistic about this November’s elections.”

Republicans currently have a four vote edge in the body. Eight incumbents are running for re-election; two will face off in a September primary for the District 9 seat, currently held by Sen. Andy Sanborn, R-Bedford; two other candidates, Jay Kahn and state Rep. Kris Roberts, are competing for the District 10 nomination; former state Sen. Peggy Gilmour, D-Hollis, is also hoping for a re-match against state Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua.

“They are small business owners, educators, community advocates, and highly-accomplished legislators who want to get things done for Granite Staters,” Woodburn noted. “Increased excitement on the Democratic side of the aisle, combined with several Republican retirements this cycle, points to common-sense returning to Concord come November.”

Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said the slate would work to end the hold that the Republican majority has had on the body. He stated that the GOP majority had “dragged its feet” on funding for the opioid crisis and commuter rail.

“With Donald Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party and the Republican Senate’s inability to effectively tackle the problems facing New Hampshire, voters are increasingly aligning with the middle class-oriented, practical approach to governance that Democrats will provide,” he said.

The candidates that filed include:

• District 1: Sen. Jeff Woodburn of Whitefield is the current Democratic leader in the Senate and is seeking his third term.
• District 2: Charlie Chandler is a retired attorney, selectman, and former State Representative who lives in Warren.
• District 3: John White is a retired Boston Globe reporter. He is very active in his hometown of Wolfeboro.
• District 4: Sen. David Watters is a former two-term member of the House and a professor at UNH for over 30 years. He and his wife Jan Alberghene live in Dover.
• District 5: Rep. Martha Hennessey is finishing her second year in the New Hampshire House where she is a dedicated member of the Children and Family Law Committee. She and her husband Steve Severson live in Hanover.
• District 6: Joe Casey is a longtime advocate for working families and a community leader in Rochester.
• District 7: Sen. Andrew Hosmer is seeking his third term in the Senate. He runs a family-owned automotive business and lives in Laconia with his wife Donna and their four children.
• District 8: John Garvey is the John is a Navy veteran, attorney, mediator, author, and educator. John is currently a nationally recognized professor at UNH School of Law, where he directs the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program.
• District 9: Jeanne Dietsch is a successful entrepreneur who has run several start-up tech companies, and lives with her husband Bill in Peterborough.
• District 9: Lee Nyquist is an attorney and Town Moderator in New Boston, where he has lived with his wife Leslie for 25 years.
• District 10: Jay Kahn is a Keene councilor-at-large and and former vice president for finance and planning at Keene State College.
• District 10: Rep. Kris Roberts has served six terms in the New Hampshire House representing Keene, and is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.
• District 11: Roger Tilton is an investment manager from Milford and the father of two daughters.
• District 12: Former Sen. Peggy Gilmour served as Senator from District 12 from 2009-2011 and again from 2013-2015. She has lived in Hollis for over 40 years, where she worked in community-based health care and established the first hospice in southern New Hampshire.
• District 13: Sen. Bette Lasky has served the people of Nashua in the Senate for three terms, and previously for five terms in the New Hampshire House where she was Assistant Majority Leader. She lives in Nashua with her husband Elliot.
• District 14: Tammy Siekmann is a longtime community leader in Londonderry, and was a coach for the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team.
• District 15: Sen. Dan Feltes is an attorney who is finishing his first term in the Senate. He lives in Concord with his wife Erin.
• District 16: Scott McGilvray is an experienced educator, who taught social studies for over 20 years while coaching football at Manchester Memorial High School. Currently serving as President of New Hampshire’s NEA, he lives in Manchester with his wife Patricia.
• District 17: Nancy Fraher of Chichester, is a retired public school teacher. She is a former chair of the Chichester and SAU 53 School Boards.
• District 18: Sen. Donna Soucy is serving her second term in the Senate, and is a former Manchester School Board member, Alderman, and State Representative.
• District 19: Kristi St. Laurent is serving her fourth term as Chair of the Windham Democratic Committee and serves on the Windham Planning Board.
• District 20: Sen. Lou D’Allesandro has represented District 20 in the Senate since first being elected in 1998. He is a former State Representative and Executive Councilor, and lives in Manchester with his wife Pat.
• District 21: Sen. Martha Fuller Clark is serving her fifth term in the Senate, and previously served six terms in the House. She and her husband Geoff live in Portsmouth.
• District 23: Rep. Alexis Simpson is a member of the New Hampshire House where she serves on the Environment and Agriculture Committee, and a former pastor. She, her husband, and their two sons live in Exeter.
• District 24: Rep. Tom Sherman is a two-term member of the New Hampshire House and distinguished gastroenterologist. Sherman recently sat on the opioid epidemic joint task force and brokered the bipartisan medicaid expansion compromise plan. He lives in Rye with his wife and three sons.