West Lebanon
In the heart of the Valley, state Rep. Martha Hennessey, D-Hanover, and Marie Lozito, a registered nurse and Republican activist from Claremont, were unopposed in their primaries for the Senate District 5 seat that is comprised of Lyme, Hanover, Lebanon, Enfield, Canaan, Plainfield, Cornish, Claremont and Charlestown.
The winner in November will succeed former state Sen. David Pierce, D-Lebanon, who stepped down from his seat this summer for family reasons.
The Haverhill-area Senate District 2 seat is also an open contest because state Sen. Jeanie Forrester, R-Meredith, was running for governor in Tuesday’s primary.
In a contested GOP primary for the District 2 Senate seat, former state Rep. Bob Giuda, R-Warren, held a narrow lead over state Rep. Brian Gallagher, R-Sanbornton, in a district that stretches from Haverhill to Tilton and also includes the other Upper Valley towns of Piermont, Orford, Dorchester, Orange and Grafton. With 21 of 27 towns reporting, Giuda had 2,261 votes to 2,008 for Gallagher.
The winner will face Democrat Charlie Chandler, a retired attorney from Warren who was unopposed in his primary.
In the race for the Senate District 8 seat, which stretches from Grantham to Weare, Republicans James Beard, 64, of Lempster, and Ruth Ward, 79, of Stoddard, were locked in a virtual dead heat. With 19 of 24 towns reporting, Ward had 1,926 votes to 1,893 for Beard.
The winner will face New London Democrat John Garvey, a University of New Hampshire Law School professor, in November.
Weare independent John Jeskevicius also will be on the ballot.
The seat had been held for most of one term by Jerry Little, R-Weare, who was appointed the state banking commissioner by Gov. Maggie Hassan this spring.
The district includes the Upper Valley towns of New London, Newport, Croydon, Sunapee, Grantham, Springfield, New London and Unity.
News staff writer John Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com.