Warmington wins only contested primary for Executive Council
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Sep. 14—CONCORD — Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, D-Concord, cruised to a primary night victory Tuesday over former Councilor Mike Cryans of Hanover.
With only 10% of the results, Warmington had 83% of the vote, much of that coming from her hometown of Concord. Cryans had 13% and Brandon Todd of Keene, who campaigned very little, had roughly 4% of the vote.
Warmington declared victory just before 9 p.m. Tuesday.
"As I have for the last two years, I will continue to fight for reproductive freedom, demand workers receive fair pay for fair work, protect public education, and deliver lower costs for Granite State families," Warmington said.
"There are many more tough fights ahead, but today's results prove that — together — we will win."
The win in the 2nd Council District pits Warmington, a health care lawyer, against state Sen. Harold French, R-Canterbury, who has worked as a real estate broker and auctioneer.
This was the only very competitive primary in either major party for these five seats on the Executive Council that serve with the governor as the state's quasi board of directors.
Councilors David Wheeler, R-Milford, and Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, both had no difficulty winning their primary tests from anti-COVID-19 vaccine activists Anne Copp of Nashua and Terese Grinnell of Loudon, respectively.
Democrats have put a renewed focus on these races since the 4-1 Republican council pursued some conservative policies after taking majority control after the 2020 elections.
Actions on abortion, COVID vaccines sparked controversy
In June 2021, the council turned down family planning grant money for the three providers that also operate abortion clinics.
In September 2021, the council had initially rejected $24 million in federal vaccine grants in order to get COVID-19 shots into the arms of those under 12 years old. The council ultimately changed its mind.
Critics said, however, that initial vote delayed these vaccines for nearly two months and this could have led to higher-than-expected cases of the virus in public schools.
Republican legislative leaders threw Warmington and Cryans, two well-known Democrats, together when they approved maps that changed the districts of the five Executive Council seats.
Until that happened, Cryans, 71, had been planning to try to unseat Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, 62, of Wakefield in the 1st District.
Instead, Kenney will face Somersworth Mayor Dana Hilliard, who became the first openly gay mayor elected in state history.
Gatsas will face state Sen. Kevin Cavanaugh, D-Manchester, who left his own state Senate seat after redistricting made it much more Republican leaning.
Wheeler will go up against Nashua Alderwoman Shoshanna Kelly, who seeks to become the first person of color to be elected to the council.
Massachusetts is the only other state in the country with an executive council, but the Bay State version is a ceremonial one, while New Hampshire's council must OK any contract over $10,000, all judgeships, a governor's entire cabinet and hundreds who serve on key boards and commissions.
Much of the agenda is the mind-numbing minutiae of state government, but there are controversies, and sometimes they turn into ideological battles.
