Split ticket voting propels Sununu while backing Dems for federal office

Nov. 9—MANCHESTER — Tuesday's election confirmed once again that New Hampshire swing voters love to split their tickets, embracing the re-election of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu while at the same time also punching winning tickets for Sen. Maggie Hassan as well as U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster, all D-N.H.

New Hampshire residents woke up today to learn at the top of the ballot Democrats and Republicans had all survived which continued to enshrine the Granite State's reputation as a purple state that is up for grabs every two years, even in a volatile midterm election.

Just before 11 p.m., ABC News was the first to project Hassan would win a second, six-year term over GOP nominee Don Bolduc of Stratham. NBC News followed quickly with the same forecast.

A short time later, Hassan declared victory while Bolduc was giving his concession speech.

"To the people of New Hampshire, thank you for the trust you have once again placed in me," Hassan told a boisterous crowd of supporters at the Puritan Backroom here.

Hassan vowed to work across the aisle to help families struggling with inflation and high energy prices.

"I promise you Democrats, independents and Republicans the people who voted for me and those that did not that I will keep working every day to serve your families, to listen to you and address the challenges facing your family, our state and our country," Hassan said.

She praised Bolduc's record of more than three decades in the military that included 10 foreign deployments and five Bronze Stars.

"I want to thank Don Bolduc for his service to our country," Hassan said. "We have differences but we share a love of country."

In his own remarks, Bolduc read from poetry that celebrated those who aren't deterred by setbacks and always stay in the fight.

Pappas said his victory came despite "long odds" because voters want their federal officeholders to work together.

"I think New Hampshire sent a clear message in this election. We want to elect in Congress people who will work together for a common purpose and will use common sense," Pappas said.

Pappas said "solutions will not be found at the extremes" but by reflecting the "values we all share as Granite Staters."

"I have nothing but respect for her and the campaign that she ran and we should all be grateful for those who step up to run for office," Pappas said of GOP nominee Karoline Leavitt of Hampton.

A short time before Pappas celebrated, Leavitt publicly conceded she had lost in her bid at 25 to become the youngest person in the U.S. ever elected to Congress.

"I am nevertheless still humbled by the support we received in every city, town and ward in the district," Leavitt told her supporters at the Wentworth-By-The-Sea Country Club in Rye.

It wasn't until just after 1 a.m. that Kuster was declared as having won a sixth straight term, a record for a Democrat in the 2nd Congressional District.

"Thank you to the voters across New Hampshire's 2nd District for trusting me to be their representative in Congress. It is the honor of my life to bring the voices of Granite State families, seniors, veterans, small businesses, and communities to Washington and to deliver real change for our state," Kuster said in a statement. "I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support."

Burns, Kuster's GOP opponent, left his campaign party around 11 p.m., but had insisted some hope large suburbs would make up for the double-digit lead the incumbent had over him.

While Leavitt had national GOP and affiliate Super PACs spending seven figures on her behalf, they gave Burns no financial help in his longer shot race.

"Whatever the result, I think I got the most votes per dollar than any candidate on the ballot," Burns told reporters.

Before Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the only major incumbent not on the ballot, refuted political observers' claim that Democrats were demoralized by the polls that showed her colleagues, Sen. Hassan and 1st District Congressman Chris Pappas, could lose.

"One of the things we have heard from commentators is there is an enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans. Oh really? Is there an enthusiasm gap?" Shaheen asked a rally of activists in Manchester.

Democratic supporters screamed a loud no in response.

With 74% of the vote reporting, Hassan led Bolduc, 54% to 44%.

Pappas led Leavitt, 54% to 46, with 80% of the vote counted.

And Kuster led Burns, 57% to 43%, with 69% of the vote counted.

In early returns, Pappas and Hassan ran up the score in urban areas they needed to dominate to prevail, including Manchester, Concord, Lebanon and Dover.

Bolduc had said earlier Tuesday night he thought he could still pull it off.

"It's going to be a long night. We are definitely going to prevail but it will be the wee hours of the morning, I am predicting," Bolduc told his supporters at the Goat Restaurant in Manchester.

"That is OK because I am a military guy and used to staying up..."

Bolduc then went on to serenade his well-wishers with a rendition of John Denver's legendary ballad, "Country Road."

In town after town early in the night, however, Sununu was winning comfortably over Democratic nominee Tom Sherman, while voters were voting for Hassan, Kuster and Pappas.

Sununu won Conway by 400, yet Hassan and Pappas beat Bolduc and 1st CD GOP nominee Karoline Leavitt of Hampton by 900 apiece.

Pappas also won Tilton, a reliable GOP town, while Hassan picked up Bristol, a community that barely went with Shaheen in her big win over GOP nominee Corky Messner in 2020.

Both Hassan and Pappas won North Hampton, usually a reliably pro-GOP community.

In East Kingston, Sununu won by 400, while both Leavitt and Bolduc failed to open up 100-vote leads over their Democratic foes.

Merrimack could have been the town that prompted the TV networks to call it with Sununu winning the rock-ribbed GOP town by 3,000 votes while Hassan and Pappas managed to prevail by about 1,000 votes apiece.

Abortion could have been bigger than polls suggested

The election also could reveal that support for abortion rights became a bigger factor than suggested by polls that had listed inflation and the economy as much more important to voters.

Kuster's opponent, Burns of Pembroke, Leavitt and Bolduc all supported the state law that bans abortion in the third trimester, and Burns had said he could favor a federal law that further restricted abortions.

Some political observers questioned why all three Democratic opponents had placed such an emphasis on the issue while their GOP rivals said the trio had endorsed "reckless" federal spending that contributed to the highest inflation rate in four decades.

Hassan, Pappas and Kuster said many of those spending bills responded to the anxiety families have about inflation by lowering the cost of prescription drugs and supporting alternative energy sources.

Jim Messina, campaign manager of President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election win, said former President Trump was to blame for failure of Republicans to take full advance of the midterm which traditionally favors the party out of power.

"You let Donald Trump pick these candidates and so many of them are not electable among general election voters," Messina told the Pulse of New Hampshire's election night program with Jack Heath.

At the Puritan Backroom, Tom Stratton of Bow said abortion was top of mind for him in supporting Democratic hopefuls.

"When my granddaughter is older, she should have the right to do what she wants when it involves her body," Stratton said.

Peter Argeropoulos, at large Manchester school board member, said people he encountered at the polls Tuesday afternoon were "energized."

"It comes down to messaging, and who gets their message across to voters effectively," said Argeropoulos. "How are they going to address the concerns people have? Whoever wins, they need to be ready to get to work."

Bolduc's party had drawn an overflow crowd with those without tickets turned away from The Goat as supporters dined on fried mozzarella sticks and beers through the red-white-and-blue-clad crush.

Harold Ham and Kathy Long of Newmarket had worried attack ads saying Bolduc supported cuts to Medicare and Social Security, and a nationwide abortion ban, could have scared off some voters.

Long and Ham said Bolduc lined up on all their top issues.

"The economy, draining the swamp, securing the border," Long said.

Ham chipped in, "Energy independence, critical race theory, you name it."

Lynda Payette of Bethlehem started volunteering on Bolduc's campaign during his previous 2020 Senate run. She said Bolduc connected with New Hampshire voters on a personal level through years of small meet-and-greets and town hall-style talks which made for an eclectic crowd.

"You have a lot of people that come in here, they don't know us at all," Payette said.

Union Leader Reporters Paul Feely and Josie Albertson-Grove contributed to this report.

klandrigan@unionleader.com