Ruth Ward

Ruth Ward

Republican Party

New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Tenure

2016 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

9

Predecessor

Jerry Little

Compensation

Base salary

$100/year

Per diem

$No per diem is paid

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Ruth Ward (Republican Party) is a member of the New Hampshire State Senate, representing District 8. She assumed office in 2016. Her current term ends on December 2, 2026.

Ward (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the New Hampshire State Senate to represent District 8. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Ward was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Education Committee, Chair
• Rules and Enrolled Bills Committee
• Senate Transportation Committee

2021-2022

Ward was assigned to the following committees:

• Administrative Rules Committee
• Senate Education Committee, Chair
• Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee
• Senate Transportation Committee

2019-2020

Ward was assigned to the following committees:

• Education and Workforce Development Committee
• Senate Transportation Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

New Hampshire committee assignments, 2017
• Education
• Public and Municipal Affairs, Vice chair
• Transportation

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Incumbent Ruth Ward defeated David Trumble in the general election for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Ward (R)	58.3	18,463
		David Trumble (D)	41.6	13,178
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	12

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,653
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8

David Trumble advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on September 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Trumble	99.7	4,368
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	12

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,380
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Incumbent Ruth Ward advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on September 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Ward	99.0	5,292
		Other/Write-in votes	1.0	56

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,348
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ward in this election.

Pledges

Ward signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Incumbent Ruth Ward defeated Charlene Marcotte Lovett in the general election for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Ward (R)	57.2	14,080
	Submit photo	Charlene Marcotte Lovett (D)	42.7	10,520
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	10

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,610
= 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 8

Charlene Marcotte Lovett advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Charlene Marcotte Lovett	99.3	3,068
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	21

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,089
= 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 New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Incumbent Ruth Ward advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Ward	99.0	4,980
		Other/Write-in votes	1.0	52

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,032
= candidate completed 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 8

Incumbent Ruth Ward defeated Jenn Alford-Teaster in the general election for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Ward (R)	55.6	18,903
	Submit photo	Jenn Alford-Teaster (D)	44.4	15,114

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 34,017
= 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 New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Jenn Alford-Teaster advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on September 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Jenn Alford-Teaster	99.5	6,103
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	32

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,135
= 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 New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Incumbent Ruth Ward advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on September 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Ward	99.0	6,131
		Other/Write-in votes	1.0	65

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,196
= 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.

2018

See also: New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Incumbent Ruth Ward defeated Jenn Alford-Teaster in the general election for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Ward (R)	51.3	12,859
	Submit photo	Jenn Alford-Teaster (D)	48.7	12,212

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,071
= 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 New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Jenn Alford-Teaster advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on September 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Jenn Alford-Teaster	100.0	4,778

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,778
= 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 New Hampshire State Senate District 8

Incumbent Ruth Ward advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire State Senate District 8 on September 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Ward	100.0	4,343

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,343
= 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.

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. This seat was vacant. It was last represented by Jerry Little (R).

Ruth Ward defeated John Garvey in the New Hampshire State Senate District 8 general election.

New Hampshire State Senate, District 8 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Ruth Ward	53.06%	16,150
	Democratic	John Garvey	46.94%	14,289
Total Votes				30,439
Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State

John Garvey ran unopposed in the New Hampshire State Senate District 8 Democratic primary.

New Hampshire State Senate, District 8 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	John Garvey  (unopposed)

Ruth Ward defeated Jim Beard in the New Hampshire State Senate District 8 Republican primary.

New Hampshire State Senate, District 8 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Ruth Ward	50.09%	2,618
	Republican	Jim Beard	49.91%	2,609
Total Votes				5,227

This candidate ran in one of Ballotpedia's races to watch in 2016. Read more »

2014

See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the New Hampshire House of Representatives 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. Incumbent Daniel Eaton was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Ruth Ward was unopposed in the Republican primary. Eaton and Ward faced off in the general election. Incumbent Eaton defeated Ward int he general election, and was re-elected for another term.

New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 3 District, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Daniel Eaton Incumbent	54%	788
	Republican	Ruth Ward	46%	672
Total Votes				1,460

2012

See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2012

Ward ran for election in the 2012 election for New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 3. Ward was unopposed in the September 11 primary and was defeated by Daniel Adams Eaton (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 3, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Daniel Adams Eaton	53.1%	1,013
	Republican	Ruth Ward	46.9%	896
Total Votes				1,909

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ruth Ward did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Ruth Ward did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Ruth Ward did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Ruth Ward campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	New Hampshire State Senate District 8	Won general	$42,753	$0
2022	New Hampshire State Senate District 8	Won general	$65,050	$0
2020	New Hampshire State Senate District 8	Won general	$87,660	N/A**
2018	New Hampshire State Senate District 8	Won general	$65,143	N/A**
2016	New Hampshire State Senate, District 8	Won	$105,238	N/A**
Grand total			$365,845	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in New Hampshire

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of New Hampshire scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the New Hampshire State Legislature was in session from January 3 to June 13. Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. Cornerstone Legislators are scored based on their votes and if they align with the organization's values. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." Open Democracy Action Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their stances on policies related to reproductive health issues

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the New Hampshire State Legislature was in session from January 4 to June 29. Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the New Hampshire State Legislature was in session from January 5 to May 26. Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. Cornerstone Legislators are scored based on their votes and if they align with the organization's values. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." Open Democracy Action Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their stances on policies related to reproductive health issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the New Hampshire State Legislature was in session from January 6 to June 24. Americans for Prosperity Foundation-New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." Open Democracy Action Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the New Hampshire State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 30. The session was suspended from March 14 to June 11. Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." Open Democracy Action Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the New Hampshire General Court was in session from January 2 through June 30. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." Open Democracy Action Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the New Hampshire General Court was in session from January 3 through June 30. American Civil Liberties Union - New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil liberties. Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. New Futures Legislators are scored on their votes on health issues. New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." Open Democracy Action Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the New Hampshire General Court was in session from January 4 through June 22. The state House met for a veto session on November 2. Americans for Prosperity - New Hampshire Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. New Futures Legislators are scored on their votes on health issues. NH House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." Open Democracy Action Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the New Hampshire General Court was in session from January 6 through June 1. Americans for Prosperity Foundation-New Hampshire- 2016 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Cornerstone Policy Research: 2015-2016 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored based on 15 roll call votes in the House and seven roll call votes in the Senate during the 2015-2016 session. Granite State Taxpayers: Senate and House Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation. New Hampshire Business and Industry Association: 2016 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored based on their votes on business legislation. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance: 2016 Liberty Rating report card Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes." New Hampshire National Federation of Independent Business: 2016 Voting Record Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. NH House Republican Alliance Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

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New Hampshire State Senate District 8

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New Hampshire State Senate District 8

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Jerry Little (R)	New Hampshire State Senate District 8 2016-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the New Hampshire State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Sharon Carson

Majority Leader:Regina Birdsell

Senators

District 1

David Rochefort (R)

District 2

Timothy Lang (R)

District 3

Mark McConkey (R)

District 4

David Watters (D)

District 5

Suzanne Prentiss (D)

District 6

James Gray (R)

District 7

Dan Innis (R)

District 8

Ruth Ward (R)

District 9

Denise Ricciardi (R)

District 10

Donovan Fenton (D)

District 11

Tim McGough (R)

District 12

Kevin Avard (R)

District 13

Lucinda Rosenwald (D)

District 14

Sharon Carson (R)

District 15

Tara Reardon (D)

District 16

Keith Murphy (R)

District 17

Howard Pearl (R)

District 18

Victoria Sullivan (R)

District 19

Regina Birdsell (R)

District 20

Patrick Long (D)

District 21

Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D)

District 22

Daryl Abbas (R)

District 23

William Gannon (R)

District 24

Debra Altschiller (D)

Republican Party (16)

Democratic Party (8)