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United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2020 (September 8 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: Sept. 8
- Primary type: Semi-closed
- Registration deadline(s): Sept. 1
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Early voting starts: N/A
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Sept. 8 (received)
- Voter ID: Photo ID
- Poll times: Varies by locality
2026 →
← 2014
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| U.S. Senate, New Hampshire |
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 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 12, 2020 |
| Primary: September 8, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Jeanne Shaheen (Democratic) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: Varies by municipality Voting in New Hampshire |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd New Hampshire elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
A Democratic Party primary took place on September 8, 2020, in New Hampshire to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 3, 2020.
Incumbent Jeanne Shaheen advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate New Hampshire.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat), who was first elected in 2008.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. New Hampshire uses a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may vote in the primary, but in order to do so, they have to choose a party before voting. This changes their status from unaffiliated to affiliated with that party unless they fill out a card to return to undeclared status.[1][2][3]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
This page focuses on New Hampshire's United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2020 (September 8 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
New Hampshire modified its primary election process as follows:
- Voting procedures: Any voter may request an absentee ballot based on concerns related to COVID-19. Voters could submit one absentee ballot application for both the primary and general elections.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate New Hampshire
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeanne Shaheen | 94.0 | 142,012 |
 | Paul Krautmann  | 3.9 | 5,914 | |
 | Tom Alciere | 2.0 | 2,992 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 137 | ||
| Total votes: 151,055 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[4] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I have lived in Keene with my wife, Suzy, for 41 years. We have 3 adult children, and 9 grandchildren. I am an Iraq War veteran and a retired Colonel, United States Army, with 26 years of active and reserve duty. I am a retired Pediatric Dentist. I am running for the US Senate seat held by Senator Shaheen. Senator Shaheen and the Democratic Party that she has controlled for over 20 years has not represented me. Senator Shaheen supports Permanent War; she never fails to vote for the National Defense Appropriation Act. The 2021 Pentagon Budget that Senator Shaheen supports is $740,000,000,000 (740 billion dollars). Senator Shaheen's vote in support of such an expenditure is shameful, disgusting, and intolerable. The country needs Medicare for All, Social Security Reform, and Campaign Public Financing, Tax Reform, prescription drug access for all, and support for Education. I offer myself as the Peace Candidate. I offer myself as the candidate who will stand with Progressives on Capitol Hill to support the welfare of all citizens, not just the wealthy. It is time for New Hampshire voters to dismiss Senator Shaheen, and allow her to come home and get a job."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate New Hampshire in 2020.
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[5] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[6] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanne Shaheen | Democratic Party | $19,891,143 | $18,861,334 | $1,118,462 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Tom Alciere | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Paul Krautmann | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
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.[7]
- 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.[8][9][10]
| Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2020 (September 8 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2020
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate elections, 2020
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," accessed April 25, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State,"Voting in Party Primaries," accessed April 25, 2023
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
