Granite State Top of the Ticket summaries from Primary Day

While New Hampshire held its Presidential Primaries months ago, its primaries for state and federal offices are just weeks before the General Election. Here’s a recap of who was chosen at the top of the ticket and how it all went down.

Governor

On the Republican side, former U.S. Senator and Attorney General Kelly Ayotte coasted to victory, more than doubling the amount of her nearest competitor, former New Hampshire State Senate President Chuck Morse.

That ease of victory cannot said on the Democratic side, where Joyce Craig took approximately half of the votes cast at the time when she declared victory around 9 p.m., with Executive Councillor Cinde Warmington coming in a few percentage points behind and former Newmarket Town Councillor Jon Kiper finishing third.

The general election looks to be a heated affair, with Ayotte likely focusing on Craig’s record as Mayor of Manchester and the city’s struggles with homelessness and attempting to state that Democratic values are out of touch with New Hampshire values. Meanwhile, Craig will likely continue to focus on Ayotte’s corporate ties as being out of touch with New Hampshire voters and aim to tie her with national Republican initiatives.

First Congressional District

Incumbent Chris Pappas was declared the nominee only moments after the polls closed given only token opposition from perennial candidate Kevin Rondeau. However, things on the Republican side may be close enough to require a recount.

As of approximately 11 p.m. on Tuesday, former State Senator and Executive Councillor Russell Prescott, entrepreneur Hollie Noveletsky and Manchester Alderman Joseph Levasseur appeared tied at about a quarter of the vote each according to several unofficial vote totals. Levasseur took home strong vote totals in and around Manchester while Noveletsky and Prescott drew neck and neck throughout the Seacoast, Lakes Region and Carroll County.

Just before midnight, Prescott seemed to pull ahead for good after garnering a lead of approximately 2,000 votes over Noveletsky with only a few small towns left to report in.

Second Congressional District

A race that once seemed like Colin Van Ostern’s to lose was indeed lost as he was trounced by former Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General and Biden Administration advisor Maggie Goodlander.

Van Ostern began the race with a series of high profile endorsements from across the state, including the person that Van Ostern sought to succeed: outgoing U.S. Representative Annie Kuster. However, the large warchest of Goodlander ate into that advantage, leading Van Ostern to criticize Goodlander’s Washington ties. This gambit may have backfired as some Van Ostern supporters such as former New Hampshire Governor Johh Lynch switched sides late in the process.

On the Republican side, Lily Tang Williams was declared as the likely victor according to the Associated Press after she found herself with a seven-point lead over Vikram Mansharamani following the declaration of results from most of the larger cities in the district in what was a 14-way race. An immigrant from China, Tang-Williams bases her political philosophy around her escape from Communism, focusing on a variety of bread-and-butter Republican issues such as border security, second amendment rights and term limits.