New Hampshire Primary Election Results: Feltes Declared Winner

Tony Schinella
Updated ·9 min read

CONCORD, NH — A former legal aide attorney and Concord state Senator has won the Democrat's primary race for governor, according to unofficial results.

Dan Feltes was declared the winner with a more than 6,000 vote lead Wednesday and after nearly 96 percent of returns were tabulated over Andru Volinsky, another Concord attorney. He will face incumbent Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and Darryl Perry, the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire candidate, in the general election Nov. 3.

Feltes, around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, claimed victory in the primary with Volinsky telling the media and supporters he would be waiting for more returns to be posted. He held a press conference Wednesday at the Statehouse at 11 a.m. to concede the race.

Feltes congratulated Volinsky and his staff "for a hard-fought race focused on critical issues facing our state." He said the differences between the candidates were "small" when compared to the incumbent — and it was time for Democrats to come together. Feltes said he would focus on building a future where affordable housing, affordable child care, and paid family and medical leave was accessible to Granite Staters.

"That is what is at stake in this election," he said. "I am humbled and honored to be the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Hampshire. I know the pollsters and the pundits think this a long shot, but we’ve proved them wrong before and I believe in the people, not the pundits. I don’t come from a political family and I am not running for governor out of some sense of entitlement, I am running for governor to get things done for the working people and working families — they need someone in the corner now, more than ever."

Paul Collins, Sununu's campaign manager, came out swinging saying Feltes had "never managed anything in his life" and was unprepared to lead New Hampshire.

"With the dust finally settled from their bitter intra-party squabbling, New Hampshire Democrats today nominated a candidate for governor whose only claim to fame is trying — and failing — to force an income tax on Granite State families, not once, but twice," Collins said.

Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Primary, congratulated Feltes on his primary victory calling him a proven leader with a record of results.

"In the state senate, Dan has fought to lower prescription drug prices, protect reproductive rights, and expand New Hampshire’s renewable energy economy — and as governor, he will continue to get results for all Granite Staters, not just those at the very top," Buckley said. "I am incredibly proud of the hard-fought campaign Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky ran. Today, all Democrats are united to defeat Chris Sununu, who has brought Donald Trump’s agenda to New Hampshire and has left too many Granite State families behind."

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These are unofficial results with around 96 percent of race results counted.

2020 Democrat Primary Results

Governor

  • Dan Feltes: 70,467 (winner)

  • Andru Volinsky: 64,403

U.S. Senate

  • Jeanne Shaheen: 136,650 (winner)

  • Paul Krautmann: 5,783

  • Tom Alciere: 2,928

2nd Congressional District

  • Ann McLane Kuster: 69,100 (winner)

  • Joseph Mirzoeff: 5,319

District 2 Executive Councilor

  • Cinde Warmington: 8,954

  • Leah Plunkett: 8,108

  • Emmett Soldati: 6,692

  • Craig Thompson: 4,009

  • Jay Surdukowski: 2,683

  • John Shea: 2,108

District 3 Executive Councilor

  • Mindi Messmer: 18,456 (winner)

  • Patty Lovejoy: 9,440

District 4 Executive Councilor

  • Mark Mackenzie: 9,086 (winner)

  • Jerome Duval: 7,174

  • Kola Adewumi: 4,241

2020 Republican Primary Results

Governor

  • Chris Sununu: 126,934 (winner)

  • Karen Testerman: 13,201

  • Nobody (Rich Paul): 1,198

U.S. Senate

  • Corky Messner: 67,944 (winner)

  • Don Bolduc: 56,859

  • Andy Martin: 6,278

  • Gerard Beloin: 3,115

1st Congressional District

  • Matt Mowers: 40,831 (winner)

  • Matt Mayberry: 18,055

  • Kevin Rondeau: 4,132

  • Michael Callis: 2,694

  • Jeff Denaro: 2,680

2nd Congressional District

  • Steven Negron: 29,394 (winner)

  • Lynne Ferrari Blankenbeker: 23,396

  • Matthew Bjelobrk: 4,143

  • Eli Clemmer: 3,695

District 2 Executive Councilor

  • Jim Beard: 10,042

  • Stewart Levenson: 8,844

District 3 Executive Councilor

  • Janet Stevens: 11,441

  • Bruce Crochetiere: 9,142

  • Timothy Comerford: 8,052

District 5 Executive Councilor

  • Dave Wheeler: 12,427 (winner)

  • Bob Clegg: 7,332

Other Races

Republican U.S. Senate primary candidate Corky Messner bested former Gen. Don Bolduc by more than 8 percent or 11,000 votes while Andy Martin and Gerard Beloin trailed far behind, with results in the low single digits.

Bolduc, Wednesday, conceded, saying the voters have spoken and while he respected their decision, he had serious concerns, too.

"I will always believe it's important to our democracy that New Hampshire voters are given the voice to choose who they want to represent their interests," Bolduc said. "While I do have serious concerns about the corruption and disproportionate influence of money and outside interests in this process, I'm grateful to have had the chance to speak with so many wonderful people in our state and I'll never forget those who supported our campaign."

Bolduc, according to press reports, was also not conceding and said he would not support Messner in the general election.

The Democrat's race for governor was expected to be tight especially after financial filings showed more than 12,000 small donations for Volinsky — while Feltes raised and spent more money.

On Monday, Volinsky said the race came down to two issues: No pledge — referring to a commitment to rejecting broad-based taxes in New Hampshire — and no pipelines. Feltes said the race was about who could work to actually accomplish public policy in a bipartisan fashion.

In the District 3 Executive Council Democrat primary, Mindi Messner, a former state representative, easily beat Patty Lovejoy by a nearly two-to-one margin.

In the District 4 Executive Council contest, Mark Mackenzie, a state representative and former leader of the NH AFL-CIO, bested Jerome Duval and Kola Adewumi. He will face Republican Ted Gatsas in the general election.

For Republicans, David Wheeler, a previous District 5 Executive Councilor, won the primary against Bob Clegg, a former state Senator, by around 5,000 votes. He will face-off against Democrat Debora Pignatelli.

Following the call for Messner in the Republican primary election for the U.S. Senate nomination in New Hampshire, Shaheen's campaign manager Harrell Kirstein, said the incumbent's record stands in sharp contrast to Messner — who was "a Colorado transplant who moved here to try to buy himself a Senate seat" and was backing policies that would hurt some state residents.

"Jeanne Shaheen delivered a tenfold increase in opioid treatment funding, helped get New Hampshire veterans health care closer to home, and is a leader in the fight to protect Granite Staters' health care," he said. "When COVID-19 hit, she helped create the bipartisan relief program for small businesses that has connected 24,000 New Hampshire small businesses with financial assistance, helping save more than 200,000 Granite State jobs. When it comes to making a difference for New Hampshire, she gets the job done."

Lynne Ferrari Blankenbeker conceded the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary to Steve Negron before the race had been officially called. She led for about 90 minutes after the polls closed but then, Negron began to pull away, eventually building about a 3,500 vote lead. Matthew Bjelobrk received about 7 percent of the vote while Eli Clemmer, who dropped out to support Negron, received around 3,000 votes.

"I would like to first congratulate all of tonight's winners," Blankenbeker said. "Although we are disappointed with the results, I'm looking forward to helping President Trump and Republicans across New Hampshire win in November. After an election season and deployment, I'm most looking forward to spending some much needed time with my family. I would also like to thank my staff, volunteers and all my supporters across the state."

Holly Shulman, a senior communications advisor for the New Hampshire Democratic Party, called Negron political beliefs "extreme far-right positions" including his opposition "to women's reproductive rights and the rights of LGBTQ Americans, his opposition to even the most popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act." Negron, she added, was "well outside of the mainstream and make the choice for voters clear on Nov. 3."

Gov. Chris Sununu, the Republican incumbent, easily cruised to victory with 90 percent of the vote against Franklin City Councilor Karen Testerman and Nobody, the marijuana activist previously known as Rich Paul.

"I am humbled and very grateful for the strong vote we received today," Sununu said. "We put a great team together for our state and provided the leadership necessary to guide New Hampshire through these unprecedented times. Many of our biggest challenges still lay ahead, and in 2021 New Hampshire will need the management experience to promote businesses, keep our state safe, and invigorate economic opportunity for families. Others just talk — I believe in results. We will keep getting the job done."

In the 1st Congressional District Republican primary, Matt Mowers was projected the winner of the primary over Matt Mayberry by more than 30 percent of the vote. Michael Callis, Jeff Denaro, and Kevin Rondeau all were in single digits.

"Voters across the First District have severe buyer's remorse with Chris Pappas, who campaigned as an independent voice and then sadly went to Washington and voted with Nancy Pelosi and her liberal agenda 100% of the time," Mowers said. "I'm humbled at the support from Granite Staters, and pledge to offer a new vision of leadership that will deliver results for middle class families."

Shaheen easily beat Tom Alciere and Paul Krautmann while U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster also easily bested Joseph Mirzoeff. U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, in the first congressional district, was unopposed.

Bill Gardner, the state's long-time secretary of state, predicted heavy turnout for Democrats, due to the competitive primary for governor — even though Republicans had more down-ballot contests, specifically, U.S. Senate and U.S. House races as well as four of five Executive Council seats. He predicted about 200,000 voters would cast ballots in the state — with nearly 80,000 voting by absentee ballot.

Early returns show turnout might be the most in state history for a primary with around 265,000 votes counted, so far.

In 2018, around 228,000 voters cast ballots — one of the busiest primaries in state history.

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This article originally appeared on the Concord Patch