Ayotte Scores Win As Newcomb Holds Hillsborough Sheriff's Job For GOP

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Brian Newcomb steps into the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office as leader, having outrun Bill Barry 63-56 in a Tuesday secret vote despite backing by prominent Democrats and a majority on the county delegation.

Sheriff Chris Connelly, elected to a third term in November, resigned as the county’s top law enforcement post in January to join Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s team as chief of staff. Captain Brian Newcomb, who had been overseeing operations in the interim, was confirmed to the post Tuesday in a 63-56 secret ballot vote by Hillsborough County’s state representatives, who also serve as the governing delegation at the county level.

Barry, a Manchester Alderman and law enforcement veteran, entered the vote with a 63-60 Democratic edge in the delegation’s makeup. He also had aggressive backing from prominent Democrats, including Ayotte’s opponent in the governor’s race, former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig.

Former Gov. John Lynch, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess, and former Speaker Steve Shurtleff all backed Barry for the job. But even with the Democratic advantage in the delegation, Newcomb still came out on top.

Ayotte hailed Newcomb’s win as a “bipartisan victory,” touting his “commitment to public safety” in a statement Wednesday night.

“The support Sheriff Newcomb received from Hillsborough County delegation members on both sides of the aisle is a testament to his outstanding character and commitment to public safety. I look forward to working together to keep New Hampshire the safest state in the nation,” Ayotte said.

Republicans are savoring the optics of a Democratic majority unraveling in a secret vote.

“The Democrats went all out in this race only to have their own representatives vote for the Republican. Good luck to (state Democratic Party chair) Ray Buckley on spinning that one,” a source close to Ayotte told NHJournal.

Barry’s defeat is the latest setback for Buckley, whose record in state and local races has been abysmal over the past decade. It’s so bad, in fact, that a group of prominent party officials took the extremely unusual step of releasing a memo decrying the party’s performance under Buckley.

The February 18 memo, titled “Observations, Concerns, and Recommendations to Improve NHDP Performance,” called out Buckley’s ‘downward trend’ — noting Kelly Ayotte’s 54.8 percent win over Joyce Craig’s 45 percent — and demanded transparency on party finances, including his pay.

With Buckley facing a March 15 reelection vote, the sheriff’s race loss piles on pressure as critics like Rockingham County Chair Mat Stover challenge Buckley’s grip on the party.

“It’s clear with this secret ballot that the Democrat Party is in revolt,” Rep. Joe Alexander (R-Goffstown) told NHJournal. “Bill Barry had the endorsement of Joyce Craig who ran Manchester into the ground and the full backing of the Democrat establishment.”

Newcomb’s win puts him atop the sheriff’s office in Hillsborough County—New Hampshire’s largest, home to Manchester and Nashua—where his interim leadership since January and Ayotte’s support swayed enough Democrats for a 63-56 edge.

Newcomb’s win marks a boost for Ayotte and her safety-first agenda barely two months into her term. That agenda includes supporting the New Hampshire State Police’s application to be deputized to enforce federal immigration laws in New Hampshire. She has also pushed for an end to sanctuary city policies that obstruct efforts to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.