New Hampshire state legislative special elections, 2023
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In 2023, five special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
House special elections called:
- Strafford 8: February 21
- Hillsborough 3: May 16
- Grafton 16: August 22
- Rockingham 1: September 19
- Hillsborough 3: November 7
How vacancies are filled in New Hampshire
If there is a vacancy in the New Hampshire General Court, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The governor and executive council must call a special election within 21 days of receiving proof of a vacancy or a request that a vacancy be filled.[1][2][3]
See sources: New Hampshire Cons. Part II, Articles 16 and 34 and New Hampshire Rev. Stat. Ann. § 661:8
About the legislature
The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire State Senate with 24 members.
The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2023. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
New Hampshire State Senate | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 10 | 10 | |
Republican Party | 13 | 14 | |
Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 24 | 24 |
New Hampshire House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 177 | 198 | |
Republican Party | 202 | 201 | |
Independent | 1 | 0 | |
Vacancy | 20 | 1 | |
Total | 400 | 400 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
February 21, 2023
New Hampshire House of Representatives District Strafford 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for New Hampshire House of Representatives District Strafford 8 was called for February 21, 2023.[4] The seat became vacant after incumbent Donna Ellis (D) left office on December 7, 2022. The special election was called due to the tie between Chuck Grassie (D) and David Walker (R) in the general election on November 8, 2022. General electionSpecial general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Strafford 8Chuck Grassie defeated David Walker in the special general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Strafford 8 on February 21, 2023.
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May 16, 2023
New Hampshire House of Representatives District Hillsborough 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for New Hampshire House of Representatives District Hillsborough 3 was called for May 16, 2023. A primary was scheduled for March 28, 2023.[5] The seat became vacant after incumbent Stacie-Marie Laughton (D) resigned on December 22, 2022.[6] General electionSpecial general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3Marc Plamondon defeated David Narkunas in the special general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3 on May 16, 2023.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3Marc Plamondon advanced from the special Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3 on March 28, 2023.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3David Narkunas defeated Joost Baumeister in the special Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3 on March 28, 2023.
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August 22, 2023
New Hampshire House of Representatives District Grafton 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the Grafton 16 district of the New Hampshire House of Representatives took place on August 22, 2023. Because only one candidate from each political party filed, the primary was canceled and the special election was moved to August 22. The primary was originally scheduled for August 22, and the special election would have been held on October 10.[7] The candidate filing deadline was June 23, 2023. The seat became vacant on April 1, 2023, when incumbent Joshua Adjutant (D) resigned after suffering a head injury.[8] General electionSpecial general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Grafton 16David Fracht defeated John Keane in the special general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Grafton 16 on August 22, 2023.
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September 19, 2023
New Hampshire House of Representatives District Rockingham 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for New Hampshire House of Representatives District Rockingham 1 was called for September 19, 2023. A primary was scheduled for August 1, 2023. The candidate filing deadline was June 9, 2023.[9][10] The seat became vacant on April 26, 2023, after incumbent Benjamin T. Bartlett IV (R) resigned due to health concerns.[11] General electionSpecial general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Rockingham 1Hal Rafter defeated James Guzofski in the special general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Rockingham 1 on September 19, 2023.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Rockingham 1Hal Rafter advanced from the special Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Rockingham 1 on August 1, 2023.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Rockingham 1James Guzofski defeated Jessica Sternberg in the special Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Rockingham 1 on August 1, 2023.
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November 7, 2023
New Hampshire House of Representatives District Hillsborough 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for New Hampshire House of Representatives District Hillsborough 3 was called for November 7, 2023. A primary was scheduled for September 19, 2023.[12] The seat became vacant after representative-elect David Cote (D) resigned on July 6, 2023, without taking office after winning election in 2022.[13] General electionSpecial general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3Paige Beauchemin defeated David Narkunas in the special general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3 on November 7, 2023.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3Paige Beauchemin advanced from the special Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3 on September 19, 2023.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3David Narkunas defeated Joost Baumeister in the special Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Hillsborough 3 on September 19, 2023.
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Historical data
There were 902 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2022. New Hampshire held 34 special elections during the same time period; nearly three per year on average. The largest number of special elections in New Hampshire took place in 2017 when 10 special elections were held.
The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.
Special elections throughout the country
In 2023, 53 state legislative special elections were scheduled in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2022, an average of 73 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2023 special elections
In 2023, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 10 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 32 due to resignation
- 9 due to the death of the incumbent
- 2 due to removal from office
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 33 Democratic seats
- 20 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2023. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections.
Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2023) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 33 | 33 | |
Republican Party | 20 | 20 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 53 | 53 |
Flipped seats
In 2023, four seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats flipped from D to R
- Maine House of Representatives District 45 (June 13)
- Massachusetts State Senate Worcester & Hampshire District (November 8)
Seats flipped from R to D
- Virginia State Senate District 7 (January 10)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Rockingham 1 (September 19)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2023
- State legislative special elections, 2022
- State legislative special elections, 2021
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- New Hampshire House of Representatives
Footnotes
- ↑ State of New Hampshire, "State Constitution-House of Representatives," accessed February 10, 2021 (Sections 12 and 16)
- ↑ State of New Hampshire, "State Constitution-Senate," accessed February 10, 2021 (Section 34)
- ↑ New Hampshire General Court, "Title LXIII: Elections," accessed February 10, 2021 (Title LXIII, Chapter 661:8)
- ↑ New Hampshire Bulletin, "Rochester special election to occur on Feb. 21," December 21, 2022
- ↑ New Hampshire Department of State, "Hillsborough County District 3 (Nashua Ward 4)," accessed February 3, 2023
- ↑ The General Court of New Hampshire Office of the House Clerk, "NEW HAMPSHIRE UPDATE - Office of the House Clerk - RESIGNATIONS, DEATHS, SPECIAL ELECTIONS," January 5, 2023
- ↑ Granite Grok, "Two Upcoming Special Elections for the New Hampshire House," June 24, 2023
- ↑ Valley News, "Enfield state rep resigns seat following head injury," April 4, 2023
- ↑ Twitter, "Kevin Landrigan on May 31, 2023," accessed June 2, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with the New Hampshire Department of State," June 1, 2023
- ↑ New Hampshire Bullentin, "Citing poor health, Nottingham Republican House member steps down," accessed May 1, 2023
- ↑ New Hampshire Department of State, "Hillsborough County District 3 (Nashua Ward 4) (November 7, 2023)," accessed August 1, 2023
- ↑ WMUR 9, "New Hampshire state Rep. David Cote resigns from House," July 6, 2023
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