New Hampshire voters have cast their ballots in Tuesday’s primary election, letting us know which Democrats and Republicans they want to face off against each other across several key races in November– from governor to county commissioner.
While the Secretary of State’s Office has yet to publish the official results as of 10 p.m. Tuesday night, AP called most of the races.
Sullivan County House District 8: Stone and Peschke
In one of only two contested Upper Valley primaries, three Sullivan County Republicans vied for two District 8 House seats following incumbent Michael Aron’s decision not to seek re-election after one term.
As of 11 p.m., AP had not called the race, with about 69% of the vote counted.
Stone, a Claremont resident elected in 2022 but unseated in 2024, led with about 50% of Republican votes. In second place, Peschke, of Croydon, had 29%. Sebastian Zyzdorf, of Goshen, trailed in third with 21% of the vote.
If the results hold, Stone and Peschke would advance to face Democrats Hope Damon, the incumbent, of Croydon, and Samuel Deering, of Washington, on November 3.
Executive Council District 2: Menard and Liot Hill
In the other contested Upper Valley primary, two Republicans faced off Tuesday for Executive Council District 2, a role held for one term by Democratic incumbent Karen Liot Hill, who ran unopposed today. AP had not called the race as of 10 p.m., at which point 36% of votes had been cast.
Based on the early results, Tobin Menard, of Newport, earned about 53% of the votes, defeating Kim Strathdee, of Plymouth, who has run four times and fell to Liot Hill in the 2024 general election, and lost the primary by about 8 points this year.
Menard and Liot Hill will face independent candidate John Rutherford, of Grantham on Nov. 3.
While the statewide races did not include candidates from our region, Upper Valley voters still made their voices heard.
Governor: Ayotte and Warmington
Based on the first 40% of votes counted, incumbent Gov. Kelly Ayotte defeated two newcomers– Bob Wayne McClory and Shaun Fife– in a Republican primary sweep, earning nearly 91% of the votes.
In the Democratic race, Cinde Warmington, a former executive council member from Concord, saw no competition as the only name on the ballot. In November, she’ll face Ayotte, who has a 49% approval rating, per a recent University of New Hampshire poll.
U.S. Senate: Sununu and Pappas
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s six-year term is coming to an end, and she opted not to run for re-election. Democrats hoping to take over included Karishma Manzur, Chris Pappas, Maxwell L. Saal, John Vail and David Jarvis.
But Pappas, shifting from his current role in Congress District 1, took the lead with 64% of the votes, though Manzur came second with 34% as of Tuesday evening, when about half of the votes were counted.
On the Republican side, those in the running included Sky Danley, Andy Martin, Mary Maxwell, Richard A. McMenamon II, Sabrina Ann Smith, John Sununu, Tom Alciere and Scott P. Brown.
Sununu, a former U.S. senator, took the lead with 68% of votes, based on the 42% of total votes counted. He’ll face Pappas in the general election.
AP called both U.S. Senate primaries at 8 p.m.
U.S. House: Goodlander and Williams
As for Congressional District 2, Incumbent Maggie Goodlander defeated Paige Beauchemin, with 81% of Democrats calling for her to serve a second term. On the Republican side, Lily Tang Williams earned 65% of the votes, defeating Victor Orlando, Michael Anthony Callis and Dan Nicholson.
AP called the Congressional District 2 races. As of 10 p.m., 34% of the Republican votes had been counted and 45% of the Democratic votes had been counted.
To see who’s running in the other, non-contested or less contested races coming up later this year, check out the lineup previously reported by the Valley News.
This story will be updated with official election results once they become available.
