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New Hampshire state legislative special elections, 2017

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In 2017, ten special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the New Hampshire General Court. All ten vacancies were filled.

A special election to fill a vacancy in New Hampshire State Senate District 16 took place on July 25, 2017. The race included a former state senator vying for his old seat and had the potential to serve as a bellwether for the New Hampshire State Senate elections in 2018. District 16 was competitive in the 2016 elections and intersects with one Pivot County. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Read more on the special election below.

House special elections called:

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in New Hampshire


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.[1][2][3]

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


About the legislature

The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire State Senate with 24 members. The General Court is the fourth-largest English-speaking legislative body in the world, behind the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United States Congress, and the Parliament of India, and has one of the greatest disparities in size between chambers of a bicameral legislature.[4] The General Court meets in the New Hampshire State House in Concord.

As of the November 2016 general election, New Hampshire was one of 25 Republican state government trifectas. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 elections. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

New Hampshire State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 10 10
     Republican Party 13 14
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 24 24
New Hampshire House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 157 173
     Republican Party 230 227
     Libertarian Party 1 0
     Vacancy 12 0
Total 400 400

New Hampshire special elections

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May 23, 2017

July 18, 2017

July 25, 2017

September 5, 2017

September 12, 2017

September 26, 2017

October 24, 2017

November 7, 2017

Political context of the Senate District 16 special election

NH SD16 district map.png

The partisan control of the New Hampshire State Senate was not at stake in the special election. As of June 2017, Republicans controlled the Senate by a 14-9 margin. In the special election, Democrats sought to retain the seat, which had leaned Republican in the past, while Republicans looked to increase their majority before the 2018 elections. This election was the first indicator of how the 2018 state Senate elections could play out.

The special election for New Hampshire State Senate District 16 occurred on July 25, 2017. Kevin Cavanaugh (D) defeated former state Sen. David Boutin (R) and Jason Dubrow (L) in the special election. The seat became vacant on March 21, 2017, when Scott McGilvray (D) died at a Boston hospital after suffering from an illness.[38]

Senate District 16 covers the New Hampshire towns of Bow, Candia, Dunbarton, Hooksett, and Wards 1, 2, and 12 in the city of Manchester.[39] Senate District 16 is one of 710 state legislative districts that intersect with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. While two of the three counties that make up Senate District 16 voted for Trump (R) in the 2016 presidential elections, overall, Hillary Clinton (D) won the district with 47.69 percent of the vote. Trump received 47.37 percent.[40]

Before Scott McGilvray (D) was elected to Senate District 16 in 2016, the last time that Democrats held the district was in 1970.[41] McGilvray was elected in 2016 with a margin of victory of 2 percent. In the previous nine elections for Senate District 16, Republicans won the district with an average margin of victory of 11.35 percent. The last five senators to represent the district were Scott McGilvray (D) from December 2016 to March 2017, David Boutin (R) from 2010 to 2016, Ted Gatsas (R) from 2000 to 2009, Patricia Krueger (R) from 1998 to 2000, and Eleanor Podles (R) from 1980 to 1998.

District 16 Elections: 1998 - 2016
Election Year: 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
Winning Party: R R R R R R R R R D
Margin of victory: R+0.2 R+6.4 R+28 R+23.4 R+1.8 R+13.6 R+15.8 R+1.4 R+11.6 D+2
Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State

A brief history of New Hampshire politics

In elections between the 1990s and 2016, New Hampshire leaned Republican at the state legislative level but leaned Democratic at the statewide and presidential levels. Between 1992 and 2017, Republicans controlled the Senate for a total of 20 years, while Democrats held the chamber for a total of five years. In 2011, Republicans retook the state Senate, after previously holding the chamber from 1992 to 1998 and 2001 to 2006. Similar to the Senate, Republicans held the state House for a total of 20 years between 1992 and 2017. Democrats only held the chamber for six years throughout that same period of time. During the 2006, 2010, and 2014 elections, the state House went through massive partisan swings. Democrats overcame a 98-seat Republican majority in the 2006 elections before Republicans rebounded in the 2010 elections. Republicans overcame a 40-seat majority in 2014 to retake control of the chamber.

Democrats controlled the governor's office for 18 years between 1992 and 2016. Republican Chris Sununu was elected to the office in 2016. Prior to Sununu's election in 2016, Republicans had only held the governor's office for seven years between 1992 and 2016. Sununu's victory made the state a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans controlled both chambers of the legislature and the governor's mansion. As of the 2017 legislative session, New Hampshire was one of 25 Republican trifectas throughout the country. There were six Democratic trifectas and 19 states under divided government. New Hampshire voted Democratic in every presidential election between 1992 and 2016 with the exception of the 2000 presidential election. Hillary Clinton (D) defeated Donald Trump (R) in New Hampshire in 2016, 46.8 to 46.5 percent.

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

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2017

Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.

Breakdown of 2017 special elections

In 2017, special elections for state legislative positions were held for a variety of reasons:

  • 46 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 1 due to an ineligible general election candidate
  • 15 due to the incumbent accepting another job
  • 22 due to a retirement
  • 15 due to a death

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. It is not typical to see significant net changes in overall state legislative party composition because of special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country, although actual races won and lost by each party varied more. For instance, in 2015, Democrats lost nine seats to Republicans but won six different seats in other races, resulting in a net loss of three seats.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not total vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 45 56
     Republican Party 53 42
     Independent - -
Total 98 98

Flipped seats

In total, 17 state legislative seats flipped party control in 2017. Democrats flipped 14 seats and Republicans flipped three seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017.

Seats flipped from D to R

Seats flipped from R to D

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ State of New Hampshire, "State Constitution-House of Representatives," accessed February 10, 2021 (Sections 12 and 16)
  2. ↑ State of New Hampshire, "State Constitution-Senate," accessed February 10, 2021 (Section 34)
  3. ↑ New Hampshire General Court, "Title LXIII: Elections," accessed February 10, 2021 (Title LXIII, Chapter 661:8)
  4. ↑ New Hampshire Government Website, "State Government Overview," accessed June 9, 2014
  5. ↑ unionleader.com, "Dan Tuohy's Granite Status: Right-to-Work showdown creates unique dynamics," February 15, 2017
  6. ↑ Union Leader, "McLean, Morin to square off for vacant House District 44 seat," accessed April 4, 2017
  7. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "CARROLL COUNTY DISTRICT NO. 6," accessed March 9, 2017
  8. ↑ WMUR, "NH House special elections: Democrat pulls off upset in Wolfeboro, Republican wins Hillsborough County seat," May 23, 2017
  9. ↑ Union Leader, "Special election dates set to fill late Manchester state rep's seat," accessed February 15, 2017
  10. ↑ Nh1.com, "Remembering deceased NH state representative Andy Martel," accessed February 14, 2017
  11. ↑ Union Leader, "McLean, Morin to square off for vacant House District 44 seat," accessed April 4, 2017
  12. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY DISTRICT NO. 44," accessed March 9, 2017
  13. ↑ WMUR, "NH House special elections: Democrat pulls off upset in Wolfeboro, Republican wins Hillsborough County seat," May 23, 2017
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Patch.com, "Candidate Filing for District 18/Ward 8 ​Special Election ​Begins Next Week," accessed April 3, 2017
  15. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Special election for state representative from Merrimack County District No. 18," accessed April 5, 2017
  16. ↑ WMUR, "Democrat Schultz scores landslide win NH House special election in Concord," accessed July 18, 2017
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Special election for state senator from District No. 16," accessed April 6, 2017
  18. ↑ Concord Monitor, "Democratic state senator, NEA-NH president Scott McGilvray dies at age 51," accessed April 3, 2017
  19. ↑ New Hampshire Union Leader, "Cavanaugh cruises to big Democratic primary win," June 6, 2017
  20. ↑ Decision Desk HQ, "New Hampshire State Senate 16 Special Election," accessed July 25, 2017
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Special Election for State Representative from Grafton County District No. 9," accessed May 22, 2017
  22. ↑ Union Leader, "Primaries Tuesday for 2 vacant House seats," accessed April 3, 2017
  23. ↑ WMUR, "Updated: Democrat Schultz scores landslide win NH House special election in Concord," July 18, 2017
  24. ↑ Twitter, "NHGOP on September 5, 2017," accessed September 5, 2017
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Special Election for State Representative from Belknap County District No. 9," accessed June 12, 2017
  26. ↑ The Red Pill, "Welcome to the Red Pill," accessed September 11, 2017(Archived)
  27. ↑ Concord Monitor. "Red Pill founder Fisher resigns from House amid calls for perjury investigation," May 17, 2017
  28. ↑ WMUR 9, "'Red Pill' creator Fisher resigns from NH House after committee recommends no action," May 17, 2017
  29. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Special Election for State Representative from Rockingham County District No. 4," accessed June 12, 2017
  30. ↑ New Hampshire Union Leader, "Dan Tuohy's Granite Status: FBI head's firing, midterm elections create buzz in NH," May 10, 2017
  31. ↑ Twitter, "John DiStaso on August 8, 2017," August 8, 2017
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Special Election for State Representative from Strafford County District No. 13.," accessed September 11, 2017
  33. ↑ Fosters.com, "Three-way race for vacant Dover state rep seat," September 6, 2017
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Special Election for State Representative from Hillsborough County District No. 15.," accessed June 27, 2017
  35. ↑ WMUR, "Updated: Vaillancourt remembered as outspoken, passionate lawmaker," March 27, 2017
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Special Election for State Representative from Sullivan County District No. 1.," accessed July 20, 2017
  37. ↑ Patch.com, "NH State Budget, Full-Day K Supported By Keno Approved," June 22, 2017
  38. ↑ Concord Monitor, "Democratic state senator, NEA-NH president Scott McGilvray dies at age 51," accessed April 3, 2017
  39. ↑ New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus, "Senate districts," accessed June 13, 2017
  40. ↑ Daily Kos, "New Hampshire 2016 presidential results by Senate districts," accessed June 16, 2017
  41. ↑ Union Leader, "State Senate special election must be held soon," March 23, 2017
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