Update at 2:30 p.m.: Executive Councilor Chris Sununu has narrowly won the Republican nomination for governor in New Hampshire. Sununu edged out state Rep. Frank Edelblut, R-Wilton, and two other contenders. “Today, we move our state into the future the New Hampshire way, bringing long overdue change to Concord,” Sununu said in a statement.
Edelblut has conceded and won’t seek a recount, the Associated Press reported.
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Manchester
“If you work with me in the next two months, I will work my heart out for the people of New Hampshire in the next two years,” Van Ostern told supporters at the Millyard Museum in Manchester.
Van Ostern, an executive councilor from Concord, defeated primary challengers Mark Connolly and Steve Marchand for the party’s nomination.
As of late Tuesday, the Republican contest remained locked in a tight battle between Executive Councilor Chris Sununu and state Rep. Frank Edelblut, R-Wilton. Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, who was expected to place in the top two, as well as GOP state Sen. Jeanie Forrester, conceded defeat.
With 266 of 300 precincts reporting around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, Sununu had 31 percent support, Edelblut 30 percent, Gatsas 21 percent and Forrester 17 percent.
Among Democratic voters, Van Ostern won 52 percent, to 25 percent for Marchand and 20 percent for Connolly.
The nominees will battle to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan in the Nov. 8 general election.
In his victory speech, Van Ostern pledged to focus on good jobs, schools and access to women’s health care. He serves on the Executive Council, a five-member body that approves gubernatorial appointments and large state contracts. He tied himself to Hassan in the primary contest and focused on his support for Planned Parenthood funding and Medicaid expansion.
Van Ostern came to New Hampshire in the early 2000s to work on Democratic political campaigns and went on to work at Stonyfield Yogurt and Southern New Hampshire University’s College for America program, a competency-based learning program.
On the Republican side, Sununu comes from one of the state’s most prominent political families and was expected to do well, partly based on name recognition. His father, John H. Sununu, served as governor in the 1980s and his brother, John E. Sununu, was a U.S. senator from 2002 to 2008.
Chris Sununu also serves on the executive council and is the chief executive officer of Waterville Valley Ski Resort.
The lesser-known Edelblut is a first-term state representative and businessman. He’s focused his race on running a company called Control Solutions, which helped large companies navigate regulations. He’s inspired some of the state’s more conservative voters to head to the polls by talking about cutting the size of government and expanding educational choice.
“It’s going to be a very late night probably,” Edelblut told supporters shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday “What I can tell you is that Colin Van Ostern is not going to be our next governor.”
At the Upper Valley polls, Diana Conine, a librarian at the Grantham Village School and Grantham resident, said she wants education and healthcare strengthened at the state level and voted a straight Democratic ticket.
“I voted for Van Ostern. I think he supports education, so I voted for him for that reason,” she said.
Canaan resident Fred Lane, a registered Republican, voted for Kelly Ayotte in the Senate race but backed Forrester in the gubernatorial primary.
“I guess it was just her experience, her past experience that caught me. I thought that, just hearing her talk, she just kind of captured my thoughts that she could do a good job.”
“It’s almost like I didn’t want to vote for the big names. It just seems like she was a little different and I kind of liked that,” he said.
Forrester Tuesday night issued a tweet about her defeat, saying, “We fell short, but I’m proud of the campaign we ran. Thank you to all my supporters.”
Van Ostern, a former student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, won 626 votes in Lebanon, far outpacing Marchand, who finished second there with 190, and Connolly, with 162 votes.
Lebanon Republican Karen Cervantes backed Sununu, despite his vote in favor of Planned Parenthood funding, after she said he told her that 1,500 people in his districted needed Planned Parenthood for health care.
“I love Chris Sununu, absolutely love him. He is dynamic. He has energy. He is experienced,” she said.
In Lebanon, Sununu won 244 votes, to 126 for Edelblut, 100 for Forrester and 68 for Gatsas. Sununu also took Hanover over Edelblut, 106-69.
But Edelblut won 91 votes in Enfield, to 84 for Sununu. The Wilton business executive and state representative also won Canaan with 79 votes, to 54 for Sununu, 46 for Forrester and 21 for Gatsas.
Valley News staff writer Tim Camerato contributed to this report.