Sununu Elected NH Governor, Kuster Re-Elected

CONCORD, NH — All of the votes have been tabulated in New Hampshire's 2016 general election and history was made in more ways than one, according to the Associated Press. In the presidential race, Democrat Hillary Clinton has a 1 percent, 1,400 vote lead against President-Elect Donald Trump, 346,816 to 345,379.

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian, who was endorsed by the state’s largest newspaper, the Union Leader, has about 4 percent of the vote (30,376). Green Party candidate Jill Stein has about 1 percent of the vote, with 6,246 votes, about 1 percent. Rocky De La Fuente received 672 votes.

In the governor’s race, Republican Chris Sununu has been elected governor, easily besting Democrat Colin Van Ostern by about 2 percent of the vote. Sununu garnered 353,427 votes while Van Ostern received 337,141. Libertarian Max Abramson received 4 percent of the vote (30,977).

ALSO READ:

• As Hassan Declares Victory in U.S. Senate Race, Ayotte Waits for Final Vote Count
• Shea-Porter Declares Victory in the 1st Congressional District
• Donald Trump Defeats Hillary Clinton After Rewriting the Rules of Politics in Landmark Election
• Trump Takes Early Vote Lead in New Hampshire
• NHPTV Hosts Mock Election for Students
• Illegal Political Mailers Aim to Depress Ayotte Vote, Promote Indie Challenger

The 2nd Congressional District race, which was seesawing all night as the early returns came in, was one of the first called by the AP after incumbent U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-NH, widened her lead against challenger Jim Lawrence, a former Republican state representative. Kuster received 174,152 votes, 50 percent, with Lawrence getting 158,862, 45 percent. John Babiarz, an independent and former Libertarian, has about 5 percent of the vote, 16,831 votes.

Kuster offered thanks to votes and said she was pleased to win a third term. She said there was still a lot of work to be done and she was committed to bringing members of both parties together.

“In my time serving in Congress, I’ve focused on working across the aisle to improve opportunity for all Granite Staters. Working with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to achieve real results, that’s the New Hampshire way," she said. “I also want to thank my family for their support and the volunteers who made calls, knocked on doors, and put out signs; I could not have done this without all of you. And of course, I want to thank all the voters. Thank you for trusting me with the responsibility of being your voice in Congress.

Read about the 1st Congressional District race here and the U.S. Senate race here.

Reactions

Both Democrats and Republicans had reasons to be happy with the results on Nov. 8, 2016.

Despite losing a Congressional seat and possibly a Senate seat, New Hampshire Republican State Committee (NHGOP) Chairman Jennifer Horn called it a good night for Republicans due to the "historic victories" of Trump and down ballot candidates.

"Republicans throughout the state ran results-oriented campaigns and offered solutions to some of our state’s most pressing issues," she said. "We can all be proud of their hard-fought efforts. We ran a complete coordinated effort and executed the largest data-driven Republican ground operation in our state's history."

Horn noted that with the election of Sununu, the first Republican in 12 years to become governor, the GOP held the corner office, both the House and state Senate, and the Executive Council.

"Today is truly a historic day in New Hampshire and under Republican leadership, our state will grow to new limits," she added.

Earlier this afternoon, the New Hampshire Democratic Party noted a bit of history for itself: For the first, the Granite State will be represented by four female Democrats in Congress.

We've made history in New Hampshire. #NHpolitics #NHsen #NH01 pic.twitter.com/qivwQeqPAC

— NH Democratic Party (@NHDems) November" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/NHDems/sta... 9, 2016

"I am honored and humbled by the hundreds of thousands of New Hampshire citizens who have supported our effort, and I know that our state will move forward as one, to build a brighter future together," Van Ostern stated.

Richard Gulla, the president of SEA/SEIU Local 1984, one of the state's largest public employee unions that went all-in for Democrats like Van Ostern, congratulated Sununu on his victory and stated that he and the org looked forward to continuing to provide critical services that keep our state moving forward under his leadership.

"We trust he will honor the commitments that have been made to the state’s employees, both active and retired," the statement said.