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New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2026

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Governor of New Hampshire
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 12, 2026
Primary: September 8, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

Varies by municipality
Voting in New Hampshire

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Likely Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2026
Impact of term limits in 2026
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
New Hampshire
executive elections
Governor

State Executive Council (5 seats)

New Hampshire is holding an election for governor on November 3, 2026. The primary is September 8, 2026. The filing deadline is June 12, 2026.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on September 8, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Jonathan Kiper is running in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 8, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Jonathan Kiper
Jonathan Kiper

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Voting information

See also: Voting in New Hampshire

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Republican-held governorship in state Harris won

See also: Gubernatorial elections, 2026

This is one of two governorships Republicans are defending in states Kamala Harris (D) won in 2024: New Hampshire and Vermont.

Democrats are defending five governorships in a state that President Donald Trump (R) won in 2024: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The table below shows which states are holding gubernatorial elections in 2026 and the last presidential and gubernatorial margin of victory in each. Click on the bar below to expand the table.

State Incumbent Last time office changed parties 2024 presidential result 2024 gubernatorial result
Alabama Kay Ivey 2002 R+30.5 R+38.0
Alaska Mike Dunleavy 2018 R+13.1 R+26.1
Arizona Katie Hobbs 2022 R+5.5 D+0.7
Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders 2014 R+30.6 R+27.8
California Gavin Newsom 2010 D+20.2 D+18.4
Colorado Jared Polis 2006 D+11.0 D+19.3
Connecticut Ned Lamont 2010 D+14.5 D+12.8
Florida Ron DeSantis 2010 R+13.1 R+19.4
Georgia Brian Kemp 2002 R+2.2 R+7.5
Hawaii Joshua Green 2010 D+23.1 D+26.4
Idaho Brad Little 1994 R+36.5 R+40.2
Illinois J.B. Pritzker 2018 D+10.9 D+12.0
Iowa Kim Reynolds 2010 R+13.2 R+18.6
Kansas Laura Kelly 2018 R+16.2 D+2.1
Maine Janet T. Mills 2018 D+6.9 D+12.9
Maryland Wes Moore 2022 D+28.5 D+32.5
Massachusetts Maura Healey 2022 D+25.2 D+29.1
Michigan Gretchen Whitmer 2018 R+1.4 D+10.6
Minnesota Tim Walz 2010 D+4.2 D+7.7
Nebraska Jim Pillen 1998 R+20.3 R+23.4
Nevada Joe Lombardo 2022 R+3.1 R+1.5
New Hampshire Kelly Ayotte 2016 D+2.8 R+9.3
New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham 2018 D+6.0 D+6.4
New York Kathy Hochul 2006 D+12.6 D+5.8
Ohio Mike DeWine 2010 R+11.2 R+25.6
Oklahoma Kevin Stitt 2010 R+34.3 R+13.6
Oregon Tina Kotek 1986 D+14.3 D+3.4
Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro 2014 R+1.7 D+14.8
Rhode Island Daniel McKee 2010 D+13.7 D+19.1
South Carolina Henry McMaster 2002 R+17.8 R+17.4
South Dakota Larry Rhoden 1978 R+29.2 R+26.8
Tennessee Bill Lee 2010 R+29.7 R+32.0
Texas Greg Abbott 1994 R+13.6 R+10.9
Vermont Phil Scott 2016 D+31.5 R+51.6
Wisconsin Tony Evers 2018 R+0.9 D+3.4
Wyoming Mark Gordon 2010 R+45.8 R+61.9

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
11/25/202511/18/202511/11/202511/4/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

2024

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2024

General election

General election for Governor of New Hampshire

Kelly Ayotte defeated Joyce Craig and Stephen Villee in the general election for Governor of New Hampshire on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kelly Ayotte
Kelly Ayotte (R)
 
53.6
 
436,122
Image of Joyce Craig
Joyce Craig (D)
 
44.3
 
360,149
Image of Stephen Villee
Stephen Villee (L) Candidate Connection
 
2.0
 
16,202
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
1,024

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 813,497
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Joyce Craig defeated Cinde Warmington and Jonathan Kiper in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 10, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Joyce Craig
Joyce Craig
 
47.9
 
59,976
Image of Cinde Warmington
Cinde Warmington
 
41.8
 
52,420
Image of Jonathan Kiper
Jonathan Kiper Candidate Connection
 
9.4
 
11,789
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.9
 
1,076

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 125,261
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 10, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kelly Ayotte
Kelly Ayotte
 
63.1
 
88,117
Image of Chuck Morse
Chuck Morse
 
34.1
 
47,567
Image of Shaun Fife
Shaun Fife Candidate Connection
 
0.6
 
876
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Submit photo
Robert McClory
 
0.6
 
839
Image of Frank Staples
Frank Staples Candidate Connection
 
0.6
 
809
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Richard McMenamon II
 
0.4
 
527
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.6
 
867

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 139,602
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2022

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of New Hampshire

Incumbent Chris Sununu defeated Tom Sherman, Kelly Halldorson, and Karlyn Borysenko in the general election for Governor of New Hampshire on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Sununu
Chris Sununu (R)
 
57.0
 
352,813
Image of Tom Sherman
Tom Sherman (D)
 
41.5
 
256,766
Image of Kelly Halldorson
Kelly Halldorson (L)
 
0.8
 
5,071
Image of Karlyn Borysenko
Karlyn Borysenko (L)
 
0.4
 
2,772
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
1,713

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 619,135
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Tom Sherman advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tom Sherman
Tom Sherman
 
97.1
 
83,205
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.9
 
2,503

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 85,708
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Sununu
Chris Sununu
 
78.5
 
113,443
Image of Karen Testerman
Karen Testerman
 
10.0
 
14,473
Image of Thaddeus Riley
Thaddeus Riley Candidate Connection
 
7.7
 
11,107
Image of Julian Acciard
Julian Acciard
 
2.0
 
2,906
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Jay Lewis
 
0.9
 
1,318
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Richard McMenamon II
 
0.6
 
817
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
374

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 144,438
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2020

General election

General election for Governor of New Hampshire

Incumbent Chris Sununu defeated Dan Feltes and Darryl Perry in the general election for Governor of New Hampshire on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Sununu
Chris Sununu (R)
 
65.1
 
516,609
Image of Dan Feltes
Dan Feltes (D)
 
33.4
 
264,639
Image of Darryl Perry
Darryl Perry (L) Candidate Connection
 
1.4
 
11,329
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
683

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 793,260
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Dan Feltes defeated Andru Volinsky in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dan Feltes
Dan Feltes
 
52.3
 
72,318
Image of Andru Volinsky
Andru Volinsky Candidate Connection
 
47.4
 
65,455
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
446

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 138,219
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Incumbent Chris Sununu defeated Karen Testerman and Nobody in the Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chris Sununu
Chris Sununu
 
89.8
 
130,703
Image of Karen Testerman
Karen Testerman
 
9.3
 
13,589
Image of Nobody
Nobody
 
0.9
 
1,239
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
95

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 145,626
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.


See also: Presidential voting trends in New Hampshire and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for New Hampshire, 2026
District Incumbent PVI
New Hampshire's 1st Chris Pappas D+2
New Hampshire's 2nd Maggie Goodlander D+2

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, New Hampshire
2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2024 district lines, New Hampshire[5]
District Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
New Hampshire's 1st 51.0% 49.0%
New Hampshire's 2nd 51.0% 48.0%
Source: The Downballot

2016-2024

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2024 presidential election, 32.9% of New Hampshirites lived in one of the state's 4 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 30.5% lived in one of 1 Trending Democratic counties. Overall, New Hampshire was Solid Democratic, having voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Joe Biden (D) in 2020, and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in New Hampshire following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

New Hampshire presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 14 Democratic wins
  • 18 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R D D R R R R D D D R R R R D R R R R R R D D R D D D D D D

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from New Hampshire

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in New Hampshire.

U.S. Senate election results in New Hampshire
Race Winner Runner up
2022 53.5%Democratic Party 44.4%Republican Party
2020 56.7%Democratic Party 41.0%Republican Party
2016 48.0%Democratic Party 47.9%Republican Party
2014 51.5%Democratic Party 48.2%Republican Party
2010 60.2%Republican Party 36.7%Democratic Party
Average 54.0 43.6

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of New Hampshire

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in New Hampshire.

Gubernatorial election results in New Hampshire
Race Winner Runner up
2024 53.6%Republican Party 44.3%Democratic Party
2022 57.0%Republican Party 41.5%Democratic Party
2020 65.1%Republican Party 33.4%Democratic Party
2018 52.8%Republican Party 45.7%Democratic Party
2016 48.8%Republican Party 46.6%Democratic Party
Average 55.5 42.3
See also: Party control of New Hampshire state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of New Hampshire's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from New Hampshire
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 2 4
Republican 0 0 0
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 2 4

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in New Hampshire's top three state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in New Hampshire, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Kelly Ayotte
Secretary of State Republican Party David Scanlan
Attorney General Republican Party John Formella

State legislature

New Hampshire State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 8
     Republican Party 16
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 24

New Hampshire House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 177
     Republican Party 218
     Independent 1
     Other 0
     Vacancies 4
Total 400

Trifecta control

New Hampshire Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Fourteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor R R R R R D D D D D D R R D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R
Senate R R R R R R R D S R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R D D R R R R R
House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R D D R R R R D D R R R R R

The table below details demographic data in New Hampshire and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.

Demographic Data for New Hampshire
New Hampshire United States
Population 1,377,529 331,449,281
Land area (sq mi) 8,953 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 88.9% 63.4%
Black/African American 1.5% 12.4%
Asian 2.6% 5.8%
Native American 0.1% 0.9%
Pacific Islander 0.2% 0.4%
Other (single race) 1.3% 6.6%
Multiple 5.5% 10.7%
Hispanic/Latino 4.5% 19%
Education
High school graduation rate 94.1% 89.4%
College graduation rate 39.8% 35%
Income
Median household income $95,628 $78,538
Persons below poverty level 7.2% 12.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Gubernatorial elections in 2026

There are 36 gubernatorial seats on the ballot in 2026.

See also

New Hampshire State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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New Hampshire State Executive Offices
New Hampshire State Legislature
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New Hampshire elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  5. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed December 15, 2023
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