Fracht wins special election for Enfield House seat left empty after attack on lawmaker

Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·1 min read

Aug. 22—David Fracht easily won the Grafton County District 16 special election Tuesday to fill a vacancy in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, unofficial results show.

Fracht, a Democrat, defeated John P. Keane, a Republican, with 71.84% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Fracht received 495 votes, with Keane receiving 194.

A total of 689 votes were cast in the special election. One ballot appears to have been left blank.

Fracht will fill the vacancy left by Joshua Adjutant, who resigned last spring after suffering a brain injury from a patient receiving psychiatric care while he was working as a security guard at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Adjutant had served in the House since 2018.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley released a statement Tuesday congratulating Fracht on an "overwhelming win."

"Fracht is an extraordinary Granite Stater and a dedicated public servant who will stop at nothing to help protect the rights and liberties of all Granite Staters," said Buckley. "The momentum of House Democrats cannot be overstated. With this seat, Democrats have decisively won their seventh victory in eight special elections since 2021 and come within a hair's breadth of taking the majority. We look forward to working with Representative-Elect Fracht for many years to come."

Fracht is currently serving as chairman of the Planning Board in Enfield.