New Hampshire Primary Features Open Senate and House Races Amid Incumbent Retirements
Voters in New Hampshire's primary are selecting candidates for open U.S. Senate and House seats, as well as governor and state legislative races, following Senator Jeanne Shaheen's retirement.
New Hampshire voters went to the polls Tuesday to choose candidates for an open U.S. Senate seat, a vacant 1st Congressional District seat, the governor’s office and the state Legislature. Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s decision not to run for re-election triggered a crowded Republican Senate primary that includes former senators John E. Sununu and Scott Brown, both of whom previously lost to Shaheen.
Sununu, a former House member and one-term senator, said he is “out of politics for 17 years” and is focused on “affordability for housing, healthcare and energy” and “standing up for the people of New Hampshire.”
Brown, a former Massachusetts senator and ambassador, argued that New Hampshire lacks Republican representation in Congress and emphasized his experience as a veteran, lawmaker and ambassador. He criticized Sununu for relying on his family name and suggested that Sununu’s support from President Donald Trump could make him beholden to special interests.
In the 1st District, seven Democrats vie for the open seat, with Stefany Shaheen, the senator’s daughter, and former VA official Maura Sullivan emerging as leading contenders. Shaheen, a former Portsmouth city councilor, has founded a business assisting people with chronic medical conditions and participates in a state biotech initiative. Sullivan, a former Marine and Iraq War veteran, previously ran for the seat in 2018.
The Republican primary in the same district includes car-dealer owner Anthony DiLorenzo, who has Trump’s endorsement, and veteran-nurse practitioner Hollie Noveletsky, a repeat candidate.
In the 2nd District, incumbent Democrat Rep. Maggie Goodlander faces a primary challenge from progressive state lawmaker Paige Beachemin, while the Republican field features Lily Tang Williams, a three-time Senate nominee.
Governor Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, seeks a second two-year term against two lesser-known opponents, while Democrat Cinde Warmington runs unopposed for her party’s nomination. Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the state House and a 16-8 advantage in the Senate.
The primary concludes New Hampshire’s early-voting schedule, leaving candidates about eight weeks before the November general election. New legislation will shift future state primaries to the second Tuesday in June.