Current:Home > StocksNew Hampshire primary voters to pick candidates for short but intense general election campaigns-LoTradeCoin
New Hampshire primary voters to pick candidates for short but intense general election campaigns
View Date:2024-12-24 00:28:19
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire primary voters are picking candidates for governor, Congress and the entire state Legislature on Tuesday, setting the stage for short but intense general election campaigns.
In contrast to its first-in-the-nation presidential primary, New Hampshire is among the last states to hold state-level primary elections, leaving the winners just eight weeks to woo voters before Nov. 5.
Two of the top races are extra competitive, with no incumbent running. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s decision not to seek a fifth two-year term means the position is open for the first time since 2016. And the 2nd Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster is retiring after six terms, has not been an open seat since 2010.
Six candidates are competing in the Republican gubernatorial primary, led by former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and former state Senate president Chuck Morse. The other candidates are Shaun Fife, Robert McClory, Richard McMenamon and Frank Staples.
Ayotte, who was also New Hampshire’s first female attorney general, would be the third woman to be elected governor, following Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan. Much of her campaign centered on “Don’t Mass it up,” an anti-Massachusetts slogan, as she focused more on crime and immigration issues and less on traditional anti-tax rhetoric.
Morse, who led the state Senate for a decade, is hoping to return to the Statehouse after losing the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2022. He has sought to align himself closely with former President Donald Trump, criticizing Ayotte for rescinding her endorsement of Trump in 2016 before backing him this year.
On the Democratic side, voters are choosing from among three candidates, though the race is largely between former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Cinde Warmington, a member of the Executive Council of New Hampshire. Restaurant owner Jon Kiper lagged far behind in both fundraising and name recognition.
Craig also served on the Manchester school board and board of aldermen before being elected the city’s first female mayor. She says leading the state’s largest city for three terms gives her the experience to be governor, though critics blame her for its ongoing struggles with homelessness and crime.
Warmington, a lawyer, is in her second term on the Executive Council, a five-member panel that approves state contracts and judicial and state agency nominations. As the lone Democrat, she frequently opposes positions taken by fellow members and the governor, particularly on matters related to health care and education. She has been criticized for her past work as a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry.
The other high-profile races are in the Democratic-leaning 2nd Congressional District.
In the Democratic primary, Kuster has endorsed former staffer Colin Van Ostern, who is also a former executive councilor who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2016. He faces strong competition from Maggie Goodlander, who grew up in New Hampshire but has spent most of her adult life in Washington, most recently at the Justice Department and the White House.
The Republican primary includes more than a dozen candidates, led by economist and author Vikram Mansharamani, anti-communist activist Lily Tang Williams and Bill Hamlen, a commodities trader.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Today’s news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP.
- Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
In the 1st Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas faces no significant challenge in the Democratic primary as he seeks a fourth term. The GOP contest features seven candidates, including former state Sen. Russell Prescott, Manchester Alderman Joseph Kelly Lavasseur and business executives Hollie Noveletsky, Chris Bright and Walter McFarlane.
veryGood! (4146)
Related
- California man allegedly shot couple and set their bodies, Teslas on fire in desert
- Your Mission: Enjoy These 61 Facts About Tom Cruise
- From the Middle East to East Baltimore, a Johns Hopkins Professor Works to Make the City More Climate-Resilient
- What's Your Worth?
- John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
- Misery Wrought by Hurricane Ian Focuses Attention on Climate Records of Florida Candidates for Governor
- Amid a child labor crisis, U.S. state governments are loosening regulations
- More Mountain Glacier Collapses Feared as Heat Waves Engulf the Northern Hemisphere
- RHOP's Candiace Dillard Bassett Gives Birth, Shares First Photos of Baby Boy
- Has JPMorgan Chase grown too large? A former White House economic adviser weighs in
Ranking
- Taylor Swift's Mom Andrea Gives Sweet Nod to Travis Kelce at Chiefs Game
- Tracking the impact of U.S.-China tensions on global financial institutions
- Get Your Skincare Routine Ready for Summer With This $12 Ice Roller That Shoppers Say Feels Amazing
- Should EPA Back-Off Pollution Controls to Help LNG Exports Replace Russian Gas in Germany?
- Investigators believe Wisconsin kayaker faked his own death before fleeing to eastern Europe
- Opinion: The global gold rush puts the Amazon rainforest at greater risk
- California Water Regulators Still Haven’t Considered the Growing Body of Research on the Risks of Oil Field Wastewater
- SVB, now First Republic: How it all started
Recommendation
-
We Can Tell You How to Get to Sesame Street—and Even More Secrets About the Beloved Show
-
Lack of Loggers Is Hobbling Arizona Forest-Thinning Projects That Could Have Slowed This Year’s Devastating Wildfires
-
Warming Trends: Nature and Health Studies Focused on the Privileged, $1B for Climate School and Old Tires Detour Into Concrete
-
The U.S. could run out of cash to pay its bills by June 1, Yellen warns Congress
-
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke earlier this month, is expected to make full recovery
-
Inside Malia Obama's Super-Private World After Growing Up in the White House
-
New Study Identifies Rapidly Emerging Threats to Oceans
-
A chapter ends for this historic Asian American bookstore, but its story continues