Sununu wins, but GOP candidates fall short in NH congressional races
Nov. 9—Republican Gov. Chris Sununu cruised to his fourth term as New Hampshire's top executive on Tuesday, but it was not a good night for the GOP in other top races as U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan along with Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas all notched Democratic re-election victories.
Sununu, of Newfields, defeated N.H. Sen. Tom Sherman, D-Rye, a gastroenterologist who criticized him for signing a bill last year that bans most abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. With 81 percent of the vote counted Wednesday at about 5 a.m., Sununu had 286,564 votes, or 57 percent, to 211,014 votes, or 41.9 percent, for Sherman, according to The Associated Press.
Libertarian candidates Kelly Halldorson and Karlyn Borysenko got 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent of the vote, respectively.
Sherman conceded shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, saying on Twitter that he wished Sununu well and was "grateful for the support of Granite Staters who believe we need to put people over politics."
Sununu thanked supporters at a bowling alley in Portsmouth and said the rest of the country could learn something from New Hampshire and his efforts to represent its 1.4 million residents.
"We try to bring the temperature down a little bit, right, that's the key, working with everybody we can, making sure we're taking those challenges head-on and just getting stuff done," he said.
The three-term governor campaigned on New Hampshire's strong economy and its modest population growth, while saying he worked to make the abortion ban less restrictive after Republican lawmakers put it in a budget trailer bill he said he had to sign to keep the state running.
Meanwhile, Hassan, of Newfields, defeated retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, of Stratham, 276,710, or 54.2 percent, to 223,788, or 43.8 percent, with 81 percent of the vote counted.
"I will always, always keep fighting to protect a woman's fundamental freedom and to block any attempt to block abortion nationwide," she said in her victory speech.
In his concession speech, Bolduc recited the poem, "If," by Rudyard Kipling, which begins, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you ..."
During the campaign, Hassan touted her ability to work across the political aisle to get things done for Granite Staters, while Bolduc cast himself as a political outsider who would reduce out-of-control government spending.
In the race for the 2nd Congressional District, which takes in the Monadnock Region, Kuster, a Hopkinton attorney, defeated Republican challenger, Robert Burns, 44, of Pembroke. The AP called the race at 1:09 a.m.
She had 143,860 votes, or 56.7 percent, to 109,916, or 43.3 percent, for Burns with 82 percent of the vote counted.
"Today, New Hampshire voters took a stand to secure freedom and our future," she said in a speech to supporters shortly before the race was called.
Burns worked as National Youth Coalition chair for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. He tried to lay the problem of inflation at the feet of Kuster, who voted for trillions of dollars of federal pandemic relief spending.
Kuster countered that record profit-taking by oil companies boosted fuel prices. She said the spending was needed to avert an economic collapse, and added that Trump boosted the deficit by $2 trillion with tax cuts that mainly helped big corporations and the wealthy.
And, in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Chris Pappas of Manchester defeated Republican challenger Karoline Leavitt of Hampton. The AP called the race for Pappas shortly before 1 a.m. He had 136,332 votes, or 54.1 percent, to 115,525, or 45.9 percent, for Leavitt with 80 percent of the vote counted.
"You sent a clear and powerful message: Granite Staters want leaders in Congress who work together to find common purpose and use common sense," Pappas said in a tweet. "I'm honored to have earned your trust for another two years."
Rick Green can be reached at rgreen@keenesentinel.com or 603-355-8567.
