New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2014

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New Hampshire Gubernatorial Election
Primary Date:
September 9, 2014
General Election Date:
November 4, 2014
November 4 Election Winner:
Maggie Hassan Democratic Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Maggie Hassan Democratic Party
Margaret Wood Hassan.jpg
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The New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Maggie Hassan (D) won re-election to another two-year term against Republican candidate Walter Havenstein.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. New Hampshire uses a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may vote in the primary, but in order to do so, they have to choose a party before voting. This changes their status from unaffiliated to affiliated with that party unless they fill out a card to return to undeclared status.[1][2][3]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. The primary was held September 9, 2014.

The gubernatorial race was not the only race on the November ballot that could have shifted the balance of power in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire House of Representatives and New Hampshire State Senate were identified by Ballotpedia as two of the top 20 legislative chambers to watch in 2014. The governor's office and both legislative chambers were not held by the same party after the election, preventing the state from becoming a state government trifecta. Learn more about the state's most competitive legislative races in 2014 on the battleground chambers page.

Candidates

General election

Democratic Party Maggie Hassan - Incumbent Green check mark transparent.png
Republican Party Walt Havenstein[4]

Lost in primary

Democratic Party Ian Freeman[5]
Democratic Party Clecia Terrio[5]
Republican Party Daniel Greene[5]
Republican Party Andrew Hemingway - former campaign manager for Newt Gingrich[6]
Republican Party Jonathan Smolin[5]

Did not file

Republican Party Brad Cook - attorney at Sheehan Phinney, secretary of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire[7]

Withdrawn candidates

Republican Party George Lambert - member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Hillsborough 44[8][9]


Results

General election

Governor of New Hampshire, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMaggie Hassan Incumbent 52.5% 254,659
     Republican Walter Havenstein 47.3% 229,596
     Nonpartisan Scattering 0.2% 907
Total Votes 485,162
Election results via New Hampshire Secretary of State

Primary election

Democratic primary

Governor of New Hampshire, Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMaggie Hassan Incumbent 94.2% 39,185
Ian Freeman 4.1% 1,719
Clecia Terrio 1.7% 704
Total Votes 41,608
Election results via New Hampshire Secretary of State.

Republican primary

Governor of New Hampshire, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngWalter Havenstein 55.7% 62,766
Andrew Hemingway 37.3% 42,005
Daniel Greene 4.8% 5,362
Jonathan Smolin 2.3% 2,620
Total Votes 112,753
Election results via New Hampshire Secretary of State.

Debates

August 12 Republican debate

Republican candidates Walter Havenstein, Andrew Hemingway and Jonathan Smolin debated economic policy and casino gambling at Franklin Pierce University. Havenstein argued for a reduced tax on business profits and budget cuts that he claimed would produce 25,000 jobs by 2017. Hemingway proposed a flat income tax rate, a decreased corporate tax rate and reducing regulations to strengthen businesses. Smolin suggested that the state could reduce or eliminate college tuition to keep young workers in New Hampshire.[10]

The three primary opponents disagreed on the prospect of casino gambling in the state. Havenstein argued against casinos on the grounds that they wouldn't significantly improve the economy. Hemingway was more amenable to casinos, suggesting that current groups that run charity gambling operations could oversee new casinos. Smolin voiced support for a small number of casinos to provide a boost to New Hampshire's economy.[10]

All three candidates found consensus in their opposition to the Affordable Care Act and support for school choice in New Hampshire public schools.[10]

Polls

General election

General election - Major party candidates and "other" category
Poll Maggie Hassan Walter HavensteinOtherUndecidedMargin of errorSample size
New England College
October 24, 2014		 47.2%46.9%2.2%3.7%+/-2.911,132
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
October 16-23, 2014		 47%38%1%13%+/-41,042
American Research Group Inc.
October 19-22, 2014		 53%43%0%4%+/-4600
CNN/ORC
October 18-21, 2014		 51%45%0%4%+/-31,023
New England College
October 9, 2014		 48.7%43.5%2.7%5.1%+/-2.981,081
New England College
October 3, 2014		 51.4%41.3%3%4.4%+/-2.731,286
University of New Hampshire
September 29-October 5, 2014		 46%36%2%16%+/-3.8532
New England College
September 19-20, 2014		 52%39.6%3.8%4.6%+/-2.541,494
AVERAGES 49.54% 41.66% 1.84% 6.85% +/-3.25 1,023.75
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].
General election - Hassan v. Havenstein
Poll Maggie Hassan Walter HavensteinUndecidedMargin of errorSample size
American Research Group
October 27-29, 2014		 48%46%6%+/-4600
WMUR
October 22-26, 2014		 52%37%11%+/-4.2555
American Research Group, Inc.
September 27-29, 2014		 55%40%5%+/-4600
American Research Group, Inc.
September 12-15, 2014		 48%40%12%+/-4.2544
Rasmussen Reports
September 10-11, 2014		 51%40%9%+/-4750
AVERAGES 50.8% 40.6% 8.6% +/-4.08 609.8
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Primary election and hypothetical match-ups

Hypothetical Match-up Poll Hassan vs. Republican candidates
Poll Maggie Hassan Daniel GreeneWalt HavensteinAndrew HemingwayJonathan SmolinMax AbramsonUndecidedMargin of errorSample size
Suffolk University
June 14-18, 2014		 52%0%0%0%15%3%31%+/--800
Suffolk University
June 14-18, 2014		 51%0%0%17%0%3%29%+/--800
Suffolk University
June 14-18, 2014		 51%0%19%0%0%3%28%+/--800
Suffolk University
June 14-18, 2014		 53%13%0%0%0%3%30%+/--800
AVERAGES 51.75% 3.25% 4.75% 4.25% 3.75% 3% 29.5% +/-0 800
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Due to the nature of the match-up poll. A value of 0 was given to candidates not included in that round.

Republican gubernatorial primary
Poll Daniel Greene Walt HavensteinAndrew HemingwayJonathan SmolinUndecidedRefusedMargin of errorSample size
Suffolk University
June 14-18, 2014		 4%13%7%2%72%3%+/--419
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].



Campaign media

Maggie Hassan

Maggie Hassan ad: Problem Solver

Walt Havenstein

Walt Havenstein ad: Second Term

Outside organizations

National Rifle Association

NRA ad: Defend Freedom in New Hampshire, Defeat Maggie Hassan

Republican Governors Association

RGA ad: Too Little

Past elections

2012

Governor of New Hampshire General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMaggie Hassan 54.7% 378,934
     Republican Ovide Lamontagne 42.6% 295,026
     Libertarian John J. Babiarz 2.8% 19,251
Total Votes 693,211
Election results via New Hampshire Secretary of State


2010

Governor of New Hampshire, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJohn H. Lynch Incumbent 52.6% 240,346
     Republican John Stephen 45% 205,616
     Libertarian John J. Babiarz 2.2% 10,089
     Nonpartisan Scattering 0.1% 537
Total Votes 456,588

Voter turnout

Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.[11] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.[12]

Quick facts

  • According to PBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.[13]
  • Forty-three states and the District of Columbia failed to surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.
  • The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis were Texas (28.3 percent), Tennessee (28.6 percent), and Indiana (28.8 percent).
  • Maine (58.5 percent), Wisconsin (56.5 percent), and Colorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.
  • There were only 12 states that increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.[14]

Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $5,148,683 during the election. This information was last updated on May 7, 2015.[15]

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate Office Result Contributions
Maggie HassanDemocratic Party New Hampshire Governor Won $2,791,681
Walter HavensteinRepublican Party New Hampshire Governor Defeated $2,248,955
Andrew HemingwayRepublican Party New Hampshire Governor Defeated $106,903
Jonathan SmolinRepublican Party New Hampshire Governor Defeated $1,144
Daniel GreeneRepublican Party New Hampshire Governor Defeated $0
Ian FreemanDemocratic Party New Hampshire Governor Defeated $0
Clecia TerrioDemocratic Party New Hampshire Governor Defeated $0
Grand Total Raised $5,148,683

Key deadlines

Deadline Event
June 13, 2014 Filing deadline
September 9, 2014 Primary election
November 4, 2014 General election
January 7, 2015 Inauguration day for state executive officials

Ballotpedia reports

To learn more about developments in this race, check out the following news articles from Ballotpedia:

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "New + Hampshire + Governor + election + 2014"

New Hampshire Gubernatorial Election News Feed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," accessed April 25, 2023
  2. ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
  3. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State,"Voting in Party Primaries," accessed April 25, 2023
  4. ↑ New Hampshire Union Leader, "Walter Havenstein's Granite Status: GOP 'excited' about business leader's potential run for governor," accessed February 15, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2014 Filing Period," accessed June 14, 2014
  6. ↑ Nashua Patch, "Hemingway Announces Run for Governor," accessed January 30, 2014
  7. ↑ Union Leader, "John DiStaso's Granite Status: GOP Manchester attorney Brad Cook confirms eyeing a run for governor," accessed September 11, 2013
  8. ↑ Granite Grok, "George Lambert Eye’s Run For Governor of New Hampshire," accessed June 10, 2013
  9. ↑ Nashua Telegraph, "Litchfield Rep. Lambert bows out of race for governor, citing health reasons," accessed February 3, 2014 (dead link)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Concord Monitor, "GOP’s governor hopefuls square off in N.H. debate," August 13, 2014
  11. ↑ United States Elections Project, "2014 November General Election Turnout Rates," November 7, 2014
  12. ↑ TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014
  13. ↑ PBS, "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years," November 10, 2014
  14. ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Midterm Turnout Down in 2014," November 5, 2014
  15. ↑ Follow the Money, "Overview of New Hampshire 2014 elections," accessed May 7, 2015
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