Primary season is approaching in New Hampshire, but voters in the Upper Valley won’t have many choices to make. Few races have drawn enough candidates to set up intraparty clashes on the Sept. 13 primary ballot.
Candidates for office had from June 1 to 10 to declare their candidacy for office and be on the ballot. The general election will be held Nov. 8.
In many of the Upper Valley seats in the House of Representatives, there will be no choice.
In Grafton County District 12, however, there will be six Hanover Democrats, including four incumbents, all competing for the four available seats. Mary A. Hakken-Phillips, Russell Muirhead, James M. Murphy and Sharon Nordgren are seeking reelection. Miles Brown and Nicolas Macri are hoping to break through and claim one of the seats.
No Republicans declared for the four seats in one of the bluest areas of the state. Nor did they field a candidate in any of the five seats in Districts 13-17, which include Lebanon and Enfield.
Declared candidates for those offices include Laurel Stavis, of Lebanon, in District 13; George Sykes, of Lebanon, in District 14; Thomas Cormen, of Lebanon, in District 15; Joshua Adjutant, of Enfield, in District 16; and Susan W. Almy, of Lebanon, in District 17.
There will be a primary on the Republican side for three seats in Sullivan District 3, which includes the towns of Charlestown, Newport and Unity.
Republican voters will choose three from among four candidates including Tobin Menard, of Newport; Skip Rollins, of Newport; Steven Smith, of Charlestown; and Walter Spilsbury, of Charlestown. The top three candidates will advance to the general election. The three Democrats who announced include Virginia O’Brien Irwin, of Newport; John W. Streeter, of Charlestown; and Linda Kristina Wadensten, of Newport.
In District 18, which includes the Upper Valley towns of Canaan, Dorchester, Enfield and Grafton, the GOP has two contenders in the primary. John Sellers, R-Bristol, and Andrew Ware, R-Grafton, will compete for the right to face Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, D-Bridgewater.
In the state Senate, just one district including Upper Valley towns will see a primary race.
In Senate District 7, which includes the Upper Valley towns of Grafton and Orange, two Bradford Republicans will face off for the nomination. Thomas A. Dunne and Daniel E. Innis, will compete for the right to challenge Richard A. Lobban, Jr., D-Bridgewater, for the seat.
Candidates for three other Senate seats representing Upper Valley towns will not face a primary.
In Senate District 1, which includes the Upper Valley towns of Haverhill and Piermont, the resignation of Sen. Erin Hennessey, a Littleton Republican, leaves the seat open for either Democrat Edith Tucker, of Randolph, or Republican Carrie Gendreau, of Littleton.
In District 5, incumbent Sue Prentiss, D-West Lebanon, will be challenged by John McIntyre, R-Hanover, in the general election.
And, in District 8, incumbent Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard, has a challenge from former Claremont Mayor Charlene Marcotte Lovett, D-Claremont.
One Upper Valley candidate has thrown his hat in the ring for the District 2 seat on the Executive Council. The race features three Democrats and two Republicans vying for the office.
Michael J. Cryans, D-Hanover; Bradford P. Todd, D-Keene; and incumbent Cinde Warmington, D-Concord, will run in the Democratic primary to earn the right to compete in the general election, while Harold F. French, R-Canterbury, and Kim Strathdee, R-Lincoln, will try to carry the GOP ticket.
Recent redistricting made it harder for an Upper Valley contender to win the seat as much larger voting populations in Concord and elsewhere give candidates from those areas the advantage.
At the county level, there is one race for a Grafton County Commissioner seat.
District 2 will feature a primary contest between Republicans Glenn Libby and Matthew D. Bjelobrk, both of Haverhill. The winner will have Democrat Martha Stroup McLeod, of Franconia, waiting in the general.
Meanwhile, Wendy A. Piper, D-Enfield, is running unopposed for reelection to District 1 in Grafton County.
In District 3, the incumbent Omer C. Ahern, Jr, R-Wentworth, has no primary opposition but will face Marcia Morris, D-Alexandria, in November.
In Sullivan County, two of three seats are up for election with the third elected on a different cycle.
Commission Chairman George Hebert, R-Goshen, and Vice-Chairman Bennie Nelson, R-Newport, are both running unopposed for reelection.
Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 802-291-4992.
Michael J. Cryans, D-Hanover
Bradford P. Todd, D-Keene
Cinde Warmington, D-Concord
Harold F. French, R-Canterbury
Kim Strathdee, R-Lincoln
Edith Tucker, D-Randolph.
Carrie L. Gendreau, R-Littleton
Sue Prentiss, D-West Lebanon
John McIntyre, R-Hanover
Richard A. Lobban, Jr., D-Bridgewater
Thomas A. Dunne, R-Bradford
Daniel E. Innis, R-Bradford
Charlene Marcotte Lovett, D-Claremont
Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard
Matthew Coulon, R-Haverhill
Rick Ladd, R-Haverhill
District 6 — 1 Seat
Craig Tomlinson, D-Orford
Jeffrey Greeson, R-Wentworth
Corinne Morse, D-Canaan
Donald McFarlane, R-Orange
Catherine Mulholland, D-Grafton
Lex Berezhny, R-Grafton
Miles Brown, D-Hanover
Mary A. Hakken-Phillips, D-Hanover
Nicolas Macri, D-Hanover
Russell Muirhead, D-Hanover
James M. Murphy, D-Hanover
Sharon Nordgren, D-Hanover
Laurel Stavis, D-Lebanon
George Sykes, D-Lebanon
Thomas Cormen, D-Lebanon
Joshua Adjutant, D-Enfield
Susan W. Almy, D-Lebanon
Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, D-Bridgewater
John Sellers, R-Bristol
Andrew Ware, R-Grafton
Brian Sullivan, D-Grantham
Tanya McIntire, R-Grantham
William Palmer, D-Cornish
Virginia Drye, R-Plainfield
Virginia O’Brien Irwin, D-Newport
John W. Streeter, D-Charlestown
Linda Kristina Wadensten, D-Newport
Tobin Menard, R-Newport
Skip Rollins, R-Newport
Steven Smith, R-Charlestown
Walter Spilsbury, R-Charlestown
Bruce L. Cragin, D-Lempster
Judy Aron, R-Acworth
Linda Tanner, D-Sunapee
George C. Grant, R-Sunapee
John R. Cloutier, D-Claremont
Gary Merchant, D-Claremont
Andrew S. O’Hearne, D-Claremont
Jeremy Herrell, R-Claremont
Sean F. McCarthy, R-Claremont
Walter A. Stapleton, R-Claremont
Jason Bourne, D-Cornish
Larry Flint, D-Newport
Margaret M. Drye, R-Plainfield
Hope Damon, D-Croydon
Robert Lovett, Jr., D-Claremont
Don Bettencourt, R-Sunapee
Jonathan F. Stone, R-Claremont
Jeffrey F. Stiegler, D-Haverhill
Martha Ann Hornick, D-Littleton
Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon
Kelley Jean Monahan, D-Orford
John H. Randlett, R-Plymouth
Paul Ingbretson, R-Haverhill
Wendy A. Piper, D-Enfield
Martha Stroup McLeod, D-Franconia
Glenn Libby, R-Haverhill
Matthew D. Bjelobrk, R-Haverhill
Omer C. Ahern, Jr, R-Wentworth
Marcia Morris, D-Alexandria
John P. Simonds, R-Claremont
Jay Buckey, D-Grantham
Marc Hathaway, R-Newport
Michael Sanderson, R-Newport
Janet Gibson, R-Newport
Kathleen Eames, D-Charlestown
Rodd Ward, R-Newport
Bennie Nelson, R-Newport
George Hebert, R-Goshen