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New Hampshire State Senate District 17

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New Hampshire State Senate District 17
Incumbent
Assumed office: December 7, 2022

New Hampshire State Senate District 17 is represented by Howard Pearl (R).

As of the 2020 Census, New Hampshire state senators represented an average of 57,462 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 55,060 residents.

About the office

Members of the New Hampshire State Senate serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. New Hampshire legislators assume office on the first Wednesday of December following the general election.[1]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the New Hampshire State Senate, a candidate must be:[2]

  • At least 30 years of age
  • A registered voter
  • A resident of the state for seven years immediately preceding the election
  • A resident of the district for which the candidate is running


Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[3]
SalaryPer diem
$100/yearNo per diem is paid.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

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.[4][5][6]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: New Hampshire Cons. Part II, Articles 16 and 34 and New Hampshire Rev. Stat. Ann. § 661:8


District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in New Hampshire after the 2020 census

On March 23, 2022, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed a new state house map into law. On May 6, Sununu signed a new state senate map into law. These maps took effect for New Hampshire's 2022 elections.

On Jan. 5, 2022, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted 186-168 to approve the state House map.[7] On Feb. 16, the New Hampshire State Senate voted 14-10 to approve the map.[7] On Feb. 16, the New Hampshire State Senate voted 14-10 to approve the map.[7]

On Feb. 16, the state Senate voted 14-10 to approve the state Senate map. On April 21, the House voted 172-149 to approve the map.[8]

How does redistricting in New Hampshire work? In New Hampshire, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[9]

State law requires that state legislative districts "be contiguous, and maintain the boundaries of towns, wards, or unincorporated places." There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.[9]

New Hampshire State Senate District 17
until May 5, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

New Hampshire State Senate District 17
starting May 6, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Incumbent Howard Pearl defeated Kelly Roberts in the general election for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Howard Pearl
Howard Pearl (R)
 
57.7
 
19,762
Kelly Roberts (D)
 
42.2
 
14,456
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
16

Total votes: 34,234
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Kelly Roberts advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on September 10, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Kelly Roberts
 
99.6
 
4,689
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4
 
20

Total votes: 4,709
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Incumbent Howard Pearl advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on September 10, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Howard Pearl
Howard Pearl
 
99.0
 
6,490
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.0
 
68

Total votes: 6,558
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2022

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Howard Pearl defeated Christine Tappan in the general election for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Howard Pearl
Howard Pearl (R)
 
56.7
 
14,878
Image of Christine Tappan
Christine Tappan (D)
 
43.1
 
11,311
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
32

Total votes: 26,221
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Christine Tappan advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on September 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Christine Tappan
Christine Tappan
 
99.2
 
2,927
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.8
 
23

Total votes: 2,950
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Howard Pearl defeated Scott Bryer in the Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on September 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Howard Pearl
Howard Pearl
 
68.1
 
4,436
Image of Scott Bryer
Scott Bryer
 
29.3
 
1,906
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.6
 
169

Total votes: 6,511
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2020

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Incumbent John Reagan defeated Nancy Fraher in the general election for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Reagan
John Reagan (R)
 
60.1
 
20,317
Nancy Fraher (D)
 
39.9
 
13,488

Total votes: 33,805
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Nancy Fraher advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on September 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Nancy Fraher
 
99.3
 
4,845
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
34

Total votes: 4,879
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Incumbent John Reagan defeated Janet DelFuoco in the Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on September 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Reagan
John Reagan
 
82.4
 
5,688
Janet DelFuoco
 
17.4
 
1,201
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
17

Total votes: 6,906
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2018

General election

General election for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Incumbent John Reagan defeated Christopher Roundy in the general election for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Reagan
John Reagan (R) Candidate Connection
 
55.5
 
13,172
Christopher Roundy (D) Candidate Connection
 
44.5
 
10,578

Total votes: 23,750
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Christopher Roundy advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on September 11, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Christopher Roundy Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
3,713

Total votes: 3,713
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17

Incumbent John Reagan advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 on September 11, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Reagan
John Reagan Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
4,297

Total votes: 4,297
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2016

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the New Hampshire State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 13, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 10, 2016.

Incumbent John Reagan defeated Nancy R.B. Fraher in the New Hampshire State Senate District 17 general election.[10][11]

New Hampshire State Senate, District 17 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Reagan Incumbent 61.30% 18,252
     Democratic Nancy R.B. Fraher 38.70% 11,522
Total Votes 29,774
Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State


Nancy R.B. Fraher ran unopposed in the New Hampshire State Senate District 17 Democratic primary.[12][13]

New Hampshire State Senate, District 17 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Nancy R.B. Fraher  (unopposed)


Incumbent John Reagan ran unopposed in the New Hampshire State Senate District 17 Republican primary.[12][13]

New Hampshire State Senate, District 17 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Reagan Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the New Hampshire State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 13, 2014. Nancy R.B. Fraher was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent John Reagan defeated Howard Pearl in the Republican primary. Pearl announced on August 6, 2014, that he was dropping out of the race, but his name remained on the ballot. Fraher and Reagan faced off in the general election.[14] Reagan defeated Fraher in the general election, and was re-elected for another term.[15]

New Hampshire State Senate, District 17 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Reagan Incumbent 58.2% 11,669
     Democratic Nancy R.B. Fraher 41.8% 8,382
Total Votes 20,051
New Hampshire State Senate, District 17 Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Reagan Incumbent 82.9% 4,045
Howard Pearl 17.1% 837
Total Votes 4,882

2012

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of New Hampshire State Senate consisted of a primary election on September 11, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 15, 2012. John Reagan (R) defeated Nancy R.B. Fraher (D) in the general election and Howard Pearl in the Republican primary. Fraher was unopposed in the Democratic primary.[16][17][18]

New Hampshire State Senate, District 17, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Reagan 52.8% 14,672
     Democratic Nancy R.B. Fraher 47.2% 13,138
Total Votes 27,810
New Hampshire State Senate, District 17 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Reagan 51.2% 2,689
Howard Pearl 48.8% 2,559
Total Votes 5,248

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for New Hampshire State Senate District 17 raised a total of $565,327. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $18,236 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, New Hampshire State Senate District 17
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $67,909 2 $33,955
2022 $84,350 3 $28,117
2020 $27,270 2 $13,635
2018 $49,626 2 $24,813
2016 $36,585 2 $18,293
2014 $75,170 3 $25,057
2012 $80,141 3 $26,714
2010 $17,225 2 $8,613
2008 $10,250 2 $5,125
2006 $39,650 2 $19,825
2004 $34,515 2 $17,258
2002 $18,622 2 $9,311
2000 $24,014 4 $6,004
Total $565,327 31 $18,236


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. New Hampshire Constitution, "Part II, Article 3," accessed February 10, 2021
  2. New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Qualifications for Office," accessed May 23, 2025
  3. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  4. State of New Hampshire, "State Constitution-House of Representatives," accessed February 10, 2021 (Sections 12 and 16)
  5. State of New Hampshire, "State Constitution-Senate," accessed February 10, 2021 (Section 34)
  6. New Hampshire General Court, "Title LXIII: Elections," accessed February 10, 2021 (Title LXIII, Chapter 661:8)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 New Hampshire General Court, "HB50," accessed February 16, 2022
  8. New Hampshire General Court, "SB240," accessed February 16, 2022
  9. 9.0 9.1 All About Redistricting, "New Hampshire," accessed May 5, 2015
  10. New Hampshire Secretary of State, "General Election - November 8, 2016," accessed October 25, 2016
  11. New Hampshire Secretary of State, "General Election Results - 2016," accessed December 23, 2016
  12. 12.0 12.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "State Primary - September 13, 2016," accessed June 22, 2016
  13. 13.0 13.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2016 Primary election results," accessed November 21, 2016
  14. New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2014 Filing Period," accessed August 6, 2014
  15. New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2014 General Election Results," accessed December 3, 2014
  16. New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2012 General Election Results," accessed December 6, 2013
  17. New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2012 Candidate List," accessed December 6, 2013
  18. New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Official Primary Results," accessed December 6, 2013


Current members of the New Hampshire State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Sharon Carson
Majority Leader:Regina Birdsell
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
Dan Innis (R)
District 8
Ruth Ward (R)
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
Republican Party (16)
Democratic Party (8)