New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2010

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In the New Hampshire gubernatorial election of 2010, held on November 2, 2010, incumbent Democrat John Lynch defeated Republican John Stephen and Libertarian John J. Babiarz. Lyncy's re-election to a fourth two-year term was unprecedented in New Hampshire.

In the September 14, 2010 primary elections, Lynch and Stephen both won easy primary victories. Lynch's biggest challenger was State Representative Timothy Robertson. Stephen faced Two-term state Representative Frank Robert Emiro, Sr. but ultimately his major opponent was Jack Kimball, Jr., a business owner and Tea Party activist.

November 2, 2010 general election results

New Hampshire, as they say, has America's first in the nation Presidential primary. It now has the first gubernatorial win of the night. Taking a historic first term, John Lynch has held onto his seat and become the first governor of the 2010 cycle to see his race called. As of November 5, 2010, results have been certified. The window to request a recount has passed.

2010 New Hampshire gubernatorial general election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a John Lynch	52.70%
	Republican Party	John Stephen	44.97%
	Libertarian Party	John J. Babiarz	2.21%
	Other	write-in	0.12%
Total Votes			456,588

Inauguration and transition

Inaugural date

Governor John Lynch began his fourth term on January 5, 2011.

Transition team

Going into his unprecedented fourth two-year term, Governor Lynch did not effect a full scale transition effort.

September 14, 2010 primary

2010 Race for Governor - Democrat Primary
Candidates		Percentage
John Lynch (D)		87.39%
Timothy Robertson (D)		6.65%
Frank Sullivan (D)		5.96%
Total votes		50,485

2010 Race for Governor - Republican Primary
Candidates		Percentage
Frank Emiro (R)		3.82%
Jack Kimball (R)		27.27%
John Stephen (R)		67.81%
Karen Testerman (R)		10.98%
Total votes		111,029

Race ratings

See also: Gubernatorial elections 2010, Race tracking

2010 Race Rankings New Hampshire
Race Tracker		Race Rating
The Cook Political Report		Lean Democrat
Congressional Quarterly Politics		Leans Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball		Leans Democrat
Rasmussen Reports Gubernatorial Scorecard		Lean Democratic
The Rothenberg Political Report		Lean Democrat
Overall Call		Democratic

Changes

7. Rasmussen moved race from "Solid Democratic" to "Leans Democrat" on October 31st.

6. Cook Political Report moved races from "Toss-up" to "Lean Democrat" on October 29th.

5. CQ Politics moved race from "Likely Democratic" to "Leans Democratic" as of October 24th.

4. Rasmussen moved race from "Toss-up" back to "Solid Democratic" following October 10th poll.

3. Rothenberg moved race from "Democrat Favored" to "Lean Democrat" in October 1st ratings.

2. Cook Political Report moved race from "Solid Democratic" to "Toss-up" in September 30th ratings.

1. Rasmussen moves race from "Solid Democratic" to "Toss-up" on September 18th.

Candidates

The November Ballot – Who Made It? New Hampshire Governor
Nominee		Affiliation
John Lynch		Democrat
John Stephen		Republican
John J. Babiarz		Libertarian
This lists candidates who won their state's primary or convention, or who were unopposed, and who were officially certified for the November ballot by their state's election authority.

Democratic

• John H. Lynch, the incumbent, sought a fourth term. He previously worked as an executive in higher education as the President and CEO of Knoll, Inc.
• Timothy Robertson, a state Representative from Keene, entered the race in mid-May. He was, at the time, serving his 8th term in New Hampshire's house and also had experience owning auto dealerships and real estate business. Robertson's late entry to the race not only forced Lynch into a primary; Robertson's own positions on some key social issues put him far enough left that Lynch was, comparatively, a centrist - something which bound to affect the primary campaign dynamic.
• One month after Robertson entered the race, retired Manchester high school teacher Francis "Frank" Sullivan declared candidacy. He centered his campaign on a pro-gambling platform.

Republican

• Two-term state Representative Frank Robert Emiro, Sr. worked extensively in transportation and in veteran's affairs. Himself a veteran of the Navy and the Army, he began his political career in his native New York serving as a staffer to the Republican Whip of the state assembly.
• Business owner Jack Kimball, Jr. is active within the Tea Party and made his first foray into electoral politics with the 2010 campaign.
• Attorney John Stephen served publicly as an Assistant Attorney General, appointed by U.S. Senator Judd Gregg (who was Governor at the time), as Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Safety, and later as Commissioner of Health and Human Services for New Hampshire. In private practice, he is a partner at The Lucas Group, Boston based consulting and strategy law firm, where he has advised governors of multiple states and Congressional members on various policy issues.
• Karen Testerman is a founder of New Hampshire's Cornerstone Policy Institute and has long been active with family value oriented policy groups in addition to being a high school and college science teacher.

Libertarian

• John J. Babiarz, the fire chief of Grafton, New Hampshire

Declaring candidacy

Intended candidates submitted either a $100 filing fee or a minimum of 200 "primary petitions" to file an Official Declaration of Candidacy. This method of entering the race is a requirement for all Democratic and Republican candidates in order to participate in the primaries. The Declaration of Candidacy is different from the Declaration of Intent, and is required by the New Hampshire Secretary of State in order to place a candidate's name on the general election ballot.

Declarations of Intent to run for governor must be accompanied by either a $100 fee or a minimum of 3,000 "nominating papers." If the candidate chooses the latter option, she must gain 1,500 signatures from each of the state's two Congressional Districts. June 11th was the deadline for filing primary petitions and for nomination papers.

New Hampshire allows voters to register and vote on Election Day for both the primary and the general election. However, the last day on which voters could change party affiliation prior to the primary was June 1, 2010. Additionally, there are blackouts periods prior to both elections to allow election workers to finalize rolls and prepare for balloting. These periods began on September 7th for the primary and on October 23rd for the general. Intended voters who miss these deadlines had to wait until the Election Day and register on site.

Polling

General election polling

2010 Race for New Hampshire Governor - Public Policy Polling
Date Reported		Stephens (R)	Lynch (D)	Other	Don't Know
September 11-12, 2010		39%	51%	-	10%
(Sample)		n=1,959	MoE=+/- 2.2%	p=0.05

2010 Race for New Hampshire Governor - Rasmussen Reports
Date Reported		Stephens (R)	Lynch (D)	Other	Don't Know
October 27, 2010		45%	51%	1%	3%
October 10, 2010		43%	53%	1%	3%
September 15, 2010		46%	48%	1%	4%
(Sample)		n=500	MoE=+/- 4.5%	p=0.05

Campaign spots

Republican Governor's Association' 'John Lynch: 'Nice Guy' ad.

Gubernatorial electoral history

1998 Gubernatorial Results
Candidates		Percentage
Jean Shaheen (D)		66.08%
Jay Lucas (R)		30.88%
Ken Blevans (L)		1.73%
(write-in)		0.13%
Total votes		318,940

2002 Gubernatorial Results
Candidates		Percentage
Craig Benson (R)		58.62%
Mark Fernald (D)		38.21%
John Babiarz (L)		2.94%
Total votes		442,976

2006 Gubernatorial Results
Candidates		Percentage
John Lynch (D)		74.01%
Jim Coburn (R)		25.83%
Total votes		403,679

Presidential electoral history

2000 Presidential Results
Candidates		Percentage
George W. Bush (R)		48.07%
Al Gore (D)		46.80%

2004 Presidential Results
Candidates		Percentage
George W. Bush (R)		48.87%
John Kerry (D)		50.24%

2008 Presidential Results
Candidates		Percentage
John McCain (R)		44.52%
Barack Obama (D)		54.13%

1992 Presidential Results
Candidates		Percentage
George H.W. Bush (R)		37.69%
Bill Clinton (D)		38.91%

1996 Presidential Results
Candidates		Percentage
Bob Dole (R)		39.37%
Bill Clinton (D)		49.32%

See also

• Gubernatorial elections, 2010
• New Hampshire lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2010

External links

• Green Papers on the New Hampshire gubernatorial election of 2010
• New Hampshire Secretary of State Elections Division (dead link)

Candidate pages

• John Babiarz for New Hampshire Governor 2010
• Frank Emiro, Governor 2010
• Jack Kimball for New Hampshire Governor
• John Lynch for Governor
• John Stephen for Governor
• Karen Testerman