New Hampshire state executive official elections, 2012
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September 11, 2012 |
November 6, 2012 |
| State executive official elections in 2012 |
One state executive position was up for election in 2012 in the state of New Hampshire. The New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, following a primary on September 11, 2012.
In September 2011, incumbent Governor John Lynch(D) announced he would not seek another term. He explained, "For me, being governor of the State of New Hampshire is the best job in the world [and] serving in this role is the highest privilege of my life, democracy demands periodic change. To refresh and revive itself, democracy needs new leaders and new ideas."[1]
Three Republicans and three Democrats competed in the primary elections. Ovide Lamontagne (R) made his second run for the state's top office; he ran unsuccessfully in 1996 but was the best known of the candidates and had a slight lead over all of the Democratic candidates in polling before the primary elections. Two former state senators, Maggie Hassan and Jackie Cilley, sought the Democratic nomination. However, neither candidate had significant name recognition among New Hampshire voters.
General
Governor
Maggie Hassan (D): former state senator 
[2]
Ovide Lamontagne (R)
John J. Babiarz (L)[3]
| Governor of New Hampshire General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Maggie 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 | ||||
Background
Key dates
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 6 - June 15 | Candidate filing period |
| Sept. 4 | Voter registration for primary election |
| Sept. 11 | Primary election; absentee ballots due by 5:00 pm |
| Oct. 27 | Voter registration for general election |
| Nov. 6 | General election |
Race tracking
| 2012 Race Rankings - New Hampshire Governor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Tracker | Race Rating | |||
| The Cook Political Report[4] | Leans Democratic | |||
| Governing Politics[5] | Lean Democratic | |||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball[6] | Leans Democrat | |||
| Rasmussen Reports Gubernatorial Scorecard[7] | No prediction yet | |||
| The Rothenberg Political Report[8] | Safe Democrat | |||
| Overall Call | ||||
Primary
Governor Primary
- September 11 Democratic primary candidates:
- Jackie Cilley: former state senator
- Maggie Hassan: former state senator[9]
- Bill Kennedy
- September 11 Republican primary candidates:
- Ovide Lamontagne[10]
- Kevin Smith, a former state Representative
- Robert Tarr
- Ovide Lamontagne[10]
- Libertarian candidates
Polls
General election candidates
October 23-28, 2012
| Governor of New Hampshire: Hassan vs. Lamontagne | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Maggie Hassan | Ovide Lamontagne | Other/undecided | John Babiarz | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| PPP October 26-28, 2012 | 48% | 44% | 0% | 0% | +/-3.3 | 874 | |||||||||||||
| New England College October 23-25, 2012 | 45% | 45% | 9% | 1% | +/-4.1 | 571 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports October 23, 2012 | 46% | 48% | 5% | 1% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 46.33% | 45.67% | 4.67% | 0.67% | +/-3.97 | 648.33 | |||||||||||||
| 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 editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
May-October 14, 2012
| Governor of New Hampshire: Hassan vs. Lamontagne | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Maggie Hassan | Ovide Lamontagne | Other/undecided | John Babiarz | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| Suffolk University Political Research Center October 12-14, 2012 | 41% | 38% | 16% | 4% | +/-4.4 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| American Research Group October 9-11, 2012 | 40% | 46% | 11% | 3% | +/-4 | 600 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports October 9, 2012 | 48% | 46% | 6% | 0% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| WMUR Granite State Poll September 27-30, 2012 | 38% | 36% | 25% | 2% | +/-3.9 | 638 | |||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports September 18, 2012 | 44% | 48% | 9% | 0% | +/-4.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| American Research Group September 15-17, 2012 | 46% | 47% | 5% | 2% | +/-4.2 | 558 | |||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling August 9-12, 2012 | 45% | 43% | 12% | 0% | +/-3.0 | 1,055 | |||||||||||||
| WMUR Granite State Poll August 1-12, 2012 | 31% | 33% | 36% | 0% | +/-4.1 | 581 | |||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling May 10-13, 2012 | 39% | 40% | 21% | 0% | +/-2.0 | 1,163 | |||||||||||||
| WMUR Granite State Poll April 9-20, 2012 | 34% | 29% | 37% | 0% | +/-4.2 | 538 | |||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 40.6% | 40.6% | 17.8% | 1.1% | +/-3.88 | 663.3 | |||||||||||||
| 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 editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Republican primary
| Governor of New Hampshire: Republican primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Ovide Lamontagne | Kevin Smith | Other candidate/Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling August 9-12, 2012 | 49% | 21% | 30% | +/-4.9 | 400 | ||||||||||||||
| 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 editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Democratic primary
| Governor of New Hampshire: Democratic primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Maggie Hassan | Jackie Cilley | Other candidate/Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling August 9-12, 2012 | 30% | 24% | 46% | +/-4.9 | 400 | ||||||||||||||
| 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 editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Endorsements
General election candidates
Maggie Hassan
Hassan received endorsements from:[12]
- Bill Clinton[13]
- National Education Association of New Hampshire[14]
- EMILY’s List
- Women’s Campaign Fund
- Carpenters Local 118
- New Hampshire Iron Workers Local 7
- United Food and Commercial Workers Locals 1445 and 791
- International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Council #35
- International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local #6
- Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1400
- Teamsters Local 633
- Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 131
- NEA-New Hampshire
- United Steelworkers District 4
- Keene Sentinel
- State senator Sylvia Larsen, Senate Democratic Leader
- State senator Mandy Merrill
- State representative Jennifer Daler, Temple, Grassroots Co-Chair
- State representative Ken Gidge
- State representative Bill Hatch
- State representative Patricia Lovejoy
- State representative Cindy Rosenwald
- State representative Donna Schlachman
- State representative Robert Theberge
- Alderman Diane Sheehan, Ward 3
- Selectwoman Kathleen DiFruscia, Windham
- Selectman Paul Robitaille, former Coos County Democrats Chair, Gorham
- Carroll County Commissioner Dorothy Solomon, 2nd Vice Chair of NHDP
- Joe Foster, former state senate Majority Leader
- Mary Louise Hancock, former State senator
- Beverly Hollingworth, former Executive Councilor, former state senate president
- Mark Hounsell, former Republican State senator
- Betty Lasky, former State senator
- Kathy Sgambati, former State senator
- Jane Clemons, former state representative, former Nashua Democrats chair
- Tony DiFruscia, former Republican state representative
- Harvey Keye, former state representative and former Nashua Democratic Chair
- John Knowles, former state representative
- Mary Ann Knowles, former state representative
- Angie Kopka, former state representative
- Melissa Lyons, former state representative
- Kate Miller, former state representative
- Christopher Pappas, former state representative
- Joe Russell, former state representative
- Jill Shaffer Hammond, former state representative
- Trinka Russell, former state representative
- Jim Webber, former state representative
Ovide Lamontagne
Lamontagne received endorsements from:[15]
- New Hampshire/Vermont Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors[16]
- National Federation of Independent Business
- Senator John McCain
- The Eagle Tribune
- Seacoast Online
- The Nashua Telegraph
- The Conway Daily Sun
- The Concord Monitor
- Businessman Steve Kenda
- House Legislative Leadership Team
- Foster's Daily Democrat
- Sheriffs Craig Wiggin, Michael Downing, and Michael Prozzo
- Executive Councilor Dan St. Hilaire
- State senator Bob Odell
- State senator Jim Forsythe
- Former U.S. Senator Gordon Humphrey
- Former New Hampshire House Speaker Gene Chandler
Primary election candidates
Jackie Cilley
- State Employees' Association of New Hampshire[17]
- Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire[18]
- Gary Hirshberg, co-founder and ex-chief executive officer of Stonyfield Farm after previously considering a bid himself.[19]
Campaign media and sites
Campaign sites
Campaign finance
General election
Ovide Lamontagne
On August 23, 2012, Republican candidate Ovide Lamontagne revealed his campaign had roughly $718,000 remaining from the nearly $1.2 million he had raised to that point.[20] Lamontagne had approximately $600,000 more cash on hand than any other candidate.
As of October 18, 2012, Lamontagne's campaign had a 2-1 lead over any other competitor in campaign funds.[21] Lamontagne had nearly $286,000 on hand, compared with a little more than $134,000 for Maggie Hassan's campaign.[21] Lamontagne's campaign reported that it raised nearly $302,000 since the September 11th Republican primary and had spent more than $274,000, leaving it with nearly $286,000 in the bank as of October 18, 2012.[21]
Maggie Hassan
Democratic candidate Maggie Hassan raised nearly as much as Lamontagne in fundraising prior to the primary election.[20] Of the $930,000 raised by Hassan's campaign, only $100,000 remained as of August 23, 2012.[20]
Hassan raised nearly $1.1 million prior to the September 11th Democratic primary but spent almost all of it to defeat challenger Jackie Cilley in order to take the Democratic nomination.[21] Hassan entered the general election with just $16,000 on hand, compared with $258,000 in the bank for Republican challenger Lamontagne. In the month following the primary election, Hassan raised more than $470,000, according to the report filed October 18, 2012, and she spent nearly $353,000, leaving her with a little more than $134,000 cash-on-hand.[21]
In a news release, Hassan's campaign reported that more than 2,100 individuals donated money since the September 11th Democratic primary.[21] Reports also showed that more than 5,500 people gave money to Hassan's campaign in total, with 77 percent giving $100 or less, according to the campaign's news release.[21]
Among Hassan's larger donors were famed filmmaker Ken Burns, a Walpole resident who gave Hassan a total of $3,500 including $1,000 on October 1, 2012 and Joseph Morone, the president and chief executive officer of Rochester-based Albany International, who donated $8,100 including $1,000 on September 28, 2012.[21]
John Babiarz
Babiarz reported $217.36 on hand as of October 16, 2012, having spent $522.64 and raised $740, including a $500 contribution from himself.[21]
Republican and Democratic Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association raised $88 million and the Democratic Governors Association collected $23.6 million, according to filings with the IRS in October 2012.[22] Both groups poured money into the tossup race in New Hampshire.
Live Free PAC
The Live Free PAC, which is funded by the Republican Governors Association, on October 17, 2012 reported spending nearly $5.81 million on the race.[21]
Primary election
Jackie Cilley
Jackie Cilley had $52,000 on hand as of August 23, 2012 from the $269,000 total that had been donated to her campaign.
Kevin Smith
Lamontagne's primary opponent, Kevin Smith, had $101,000 cash on hand on August 23, 2012 from the $342,000 his campaign raised to that point.[20]
News
- Six candidates file to succeed John Lynch as Governor of New Hampshire June 18
- 2012 elections preview: Delaware and New Hampshire voters to choose state executive nominees tomorrow September 10
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NewHampshire.com, "Governor won't seek corner office again," September 19, 2011
- ↑ WMUR "General Election Results" accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Cumulative Filings" accessed September 13, 2012
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, “Governors: Race Ratings”
- ↑ Governing Politics, “Looking Ahead: The 2011-2012 Gubernatorial Landscape”, December 2, 2010
- ↑ Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball', “2011 Governor Ratings”
- ↑ Rasmussen Reports', “Election 2010: Scorecard Ratings”
- ↑ Rothenberg Political Report, “Governor Ratings”
- ↑ New Hampshire Public Radio, "New Hampshire Governor" accessed September 11, 2012
- ↑ AP Results, "New Hampshire Governor Election Results" accessed September 11, 2012
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Cumulative Filings" accessed September 13, 2012
- ↑ Maggie Hassan for Governor, "Endorsements," accessed August 11, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Bill Clinton to endorse Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire gubernatorial race," July 22, 2012
- ↑ Union Leader, "NEA endorses Democrat Hassan for NH governor" accessed August 16, 2012
- ↑ Ovide 2012, "Endorsements," accessed October 12, 2012
- ↑ Ovide 2012 "Associated Builders and Contractors Endorse Ovide for Governor" accessed October 12, 2012
- ↑ Fosters, "State employee union supports Cilley in governor's race," June 19, 2012
- ↑ Union Leader, "Cilley gets Fire Fighters' endorsement in bid to be NH governor," July 11, 2012
- ↑ Concord Monitor, "Ex-Stonyfield exec backs Cilley" accessed August 21, 2012
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Concord Monitor, "Lamontagne leads money race" accessed August 24, 2012
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 21.9 Concord Monitor, "Lamontagne leads in campaign funding" accessed October 18, 2012
- ↑ NPR "Republican Governors Gear Up For Election Gains" accessed October 18, 2012
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