LEBANON — Ballots in the Sept. 8 primary election will be short this year with very few contested races on the New Hampshire side of the Upper Valley.
Though the filing period for New Hampshire offices closed June 12, the Office of the Secretary of State was still receiving filings for office in the mail as of Tuesday afternoon, spokeswoman Anna Sventek said in an email. This story is based on the office’s cumulative candidate filings as of Tuesday.
First-term Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, a Lebanon Democrat, is facing a full slate of challengers for Executive Council District 2, which stretches from Littleton south along the Connecticut River down to the Massachusetts border and includes the entire Upper Valley along with swaths of Merrimack and Hillsborough counties.
Tobin Menard, of Newport, and Kim Strathdee, of Plymouth, will face off in the Republican primary. Strathdee came out on top in primary elections for the same seat in 2024 before falling to Liot Hill in the general election, 83,130-62,250.
The winner of the primary will face Liot Hill and independent candidate John Rutherford, of Grantham, to attempt to flip the only Democratic seat on the five-member council in the general election on Nov. 3.
Beyond the Executive Council race, there is one contested Upper Valley primary for the state House of Representatives.
Three Republicans will vie for two seats representing Sullivan County District 8, which includes Claremont, Croydon, Springfield and Sunapee in the Upper Valley.
Catherine Peschke, of Croydon; Jon Stone, of Claremont; and Sebastian Zyzdorf, of Goshen, will face off in the Republican primary.
The winners will compete against incumbent Hope Damon, D-Croydon, and Samuel Deering, D-Washington, in the general election.
November elections will offer voters more options, though some long-time Upper Valley Representatives will not be making a return to Concord.
In a big shift for Lebanon Democrats, Susan Almy and George Sykes are not running for reelection. Almy has represented Lebanon in the house for 30 years, serving since 1996. Sykes has served in the house since 2012 and is running instead for the Grafton County Commission.
Haverhill Republican Rick Ladd, who has served in the House since 2008, also is not running for reelection.
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Three from Haverhill will face off for two seats in the House representing the Upper Valley towns of Haverhill and Piermont, one of which was vacated by Ladd: incumbent Republican Marie Bjelobrk, Republican Greg Mathieson and Democrat Dustin Vigneault.
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Incumbent Linda Franz, R-Wentworth, will face Democrat Paul Goundrey, of Orford, to represent the district, which includes Orford.
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Bradley Macrae, R-Dorchester, and Ella Barrett, D-Orange, are vying to represent Canaan, Dorchester and Orange. Incumbent Thomas Oppel, D-Canaan, is not seeking another term.
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Jake Abuhav, R-Grafton, will face Roger Larochelle Jr., D-Hebron, for one seat representing the district, which includes the Upper Valley town of Grafton. Lex Berezhny, R-Grafton, is not seeking reelection.
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Incumbent Donald McFarlane, R-Orange, is running against Marko Kloos, D-Enfield, to represent the district including Canaan, Dorchester, Enfield, Grafton and Orange.
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Incumbent Democrat Brian Sullivan will face off against Republican Joel Hutchins, both of Grantham, for the seat representing the town.
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Jenny Ramsey, D-Plainfield, and Michael Belanger, R-Cornish, are competing to represent Cornish and Plainfield in the House. William Palmer, D-Cornish, is not running for reelection.
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In a crowded race, three Democrats will face three Republicans for three seats representing Charlestown, Newport and Unity.
Incumbent Republicans Skip Rollins, of Newport; Steven Smith and Walter Spilsbury, both of Charlestown, are all seeking reelection. On the other side of the aisle, Democrats Lisa DeBartolomao and Timothy Fitzpatrick, both of Charlestown, and Jeffrey Kessler of Newport are looking to flip the seats.
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Republican incumbent George Grant is facing a challenge from Democrat Judith Thackaberry, both of Sunapee, to represent Springfield and Sunapee.
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In another crowded race for Claremont, three Republicans, including incumbent state Rep. Dale Girard, who also serves as the city’s mayor and recently switched parties, and three Democrats are running for three seats representing Claremont and Croydon.
On the Republican side, Girard is joined by incumbent state Rep. Wayne Hemingway, who is also a city councilor; and Emily Sandblade, all of Claremont.
On the Democratic side, incumbent John Cloutier, City Councilor Chris Cogswell and Lisa Gosselin, also all of Claremont, are running.
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Incumbent Republican Margaret Drye, of Plainfield, is facing a challenge from Democrat Lawrence Schissel, of Newport, to represent Charlestown, Cornish, Newport, Plainfield and Unity.
Senate
All 24 seats in the state Senate are up for reelection, but there will be no contested primaries.
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Come November, incumbent David Rochefort, R-Littleton, will face Cathleen Fountain, D-Dalton, for the district that includes Haverhill and Piermont.
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Incumbent Suzanne Prentiss, D-Lebanon, is being challenged by Republican Conrad Schoeffter of Plainfield to represent the district that includes Orford, Lyme, Dorchester, Hanover, Canaan, Lebanon, Enfield, Plainfield, Cornish, Grantham, Springfield and New London.
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Incumbent Dan Innis, R-Bradford, is being challenged by Democrat Rebecca Harned, of Sutton, to represent the district including Orange, Grafton and Newbury.
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Republican Sen. Ruth Ward, a 10-year veteran of the office, announced that she was retiring at the close of the session this month. David Trumble, D-Weare, and Jim Creighton, R-Antrim, will face off to represent Senate District 8, which includes Croydon, Claremont, Newport, Sunapee, Charlestown and Unity.
County races
Incumbent Michael Cryans, D-Hanover, and Brian Dear, R-Lyman, are running for Grafton County treasurer.
Also in Grafton County, incumbent Republican Kelley Monahan, of Orford, who also changed her party during her current term is running for reelection as Register of Deeds. Brie Choate, D-Haverhill, is running against her.
Incumbent Democrat Katie Hedberg, of Plymouth, and Kimberly Chandonnet, R-Wentworth, are running for Grafton County Commissioner for District 3, which includes Canaan, Dorchester, Grafton and Orange in the Upper Valley.
In Sullivan County, incumbent Republican Joe Osgood will face a challenge from Democrat Benjamin Nelson, both of Claremont, for the Sullivan County Commission District 1, which includes Cornish and Claremont.
No contest
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Hanover Democrats Ellen Rockmore, Mary Hakken-Phillips, Russell Muirhead and Terry Spahr are all running for reelection to the four seats representing Hanover and Lyme.
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Lebanon Democrat Laurel Stavis, who also serves on the City Council, is running for reelection to represent Ward 1 in Lebanon, which includes West Lebanon.
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Lebanon Democrat Kathryn Brennan is running to replace longtime state Rep. Sykes for Lebanon Ward 2.
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Democrat Zoe Hill, Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill’s child, is facing no challengers for Lebanon Ward 3.
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Incumbent Democrat David Fracht, of Enfield, is facing no challengers to represent the Upper Valley town.
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Lebanon Democrat Thomas Cormen is running to fill the seat being vacated by Almy to represent all of Lebanon. Cormen currently represents Grafton County District 15, or Lebanon Ward 3.
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Incumbents Gregory Sargent and Karen Ebel, both New London Democrats, are running for reelection to represent New London and Newbury.
Grafton County
County Sheriff Jill Myers, D-Lisbon, is facing no competition for a second term.
County Attorney Marcie Hornick, D-Littleton, is also running unopposed. Sykes, D-Lebanon, is running unopposed for Grafton County Commission District 1, which includes Enfield, Hanover and Lebanon. Wendy Piper, R-Enfield, is not running for reelection.
Sullivan County
James Yazinski, R-Claremont, is running unopposed for Sullivan County sheriff. He currently serves as chief deputy under Sheriff Jayson Almstrom.
Four incumbents are also running unopposed; Bennie Nelson, R-Newport, for county commissioner for District 2; Michael Sanderson, R-Newport, for treasurer; Renee Simino, R- Lempster, for register of deeds and Rodd Ward, R-Newport, for register of probate.
