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New Hampshire House of Representatives

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New Hampshire House of
Representatives
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General Information
Party control:   Democrat
Session start:   January 8, 2025
Session end:   June 26, 2025
Term length:   2 years
Term limits:   None
Redistricting:  Legislative control
Salary:   $100/year
Members
Total:  400
Democrats:  180
Republicans:  220
Other:  1 (Libertarian)
Vacancies:  0
Leadership
Speaker:   Sherman Packard (R)
Maj. Leader:   Jason Osborne (R)
Min. Leader:   TBD
Elections
Last election:  November 5, 2024
Next election:  November 3, 2026

The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the New Hampshire General Court. Alongside the New Hampshire State Senate, it forms the legislative branch of the New Hampshire state government and works alongside the governor of New Hampshire to create laws and establish a state budget. Legislative authority and responsibilities of the New Hampshire House of Representatives include passing bills on public policy matters, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes, and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes.

The New Hampshire House of Representatives meets in the State House in Concord, New Hampshire.

  • All 400 seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. Click to read more »
  • In 2018, Democrats gained control of the chamber, flipping a 212-167 minority (with two Libertarians and 19 vacancies) to a 233-167 majority.
  • New Hampshire has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers. As of September 25, 2025, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 14 Democratic trifectas, and 13 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control. In the 2020 election, Republicans had a net gain of two trifectas and two states under divided government became trifectas. Prior to that election, New Hampshire had a divided government. There were 21 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 14 divided governments.

    • This page contains the following information on the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

    Party control

    Current partisan control

    The table below shows the partisan breakdown of the New Hampshire House of Representatives as of September 2025:

    Party As of September 2025
         Democratic Party 177
         Republican Party 219
         Independent 1
         Other 0
         Vacancies 3
    Total 400

    Members

    Leadership

    The speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body. Duties of the speaker include preserving order, enforcing and interpreting parliamentary rules, making committee appointments, and referring bills to the appropriate committee for review. The speaker only votes in the case of a tie.[1]

    Current leadership and members

    Salaries

    See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
    State legislative salaries, 2024[2]
    SalaryPer diem
    $100/yearNo per diem is paid.

    Swearing in dates

    See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

    New Hampshire legislators assume office on the first Wednesday in December in even-numbered years, one month and one day after the November elections.

    Membership qualifications

    See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

    Article 14 of Part 2 of the New Hampshire Constitution states, "Every member of the house of representatives shall be chosen by ballot; and, for two years, at least, next preceding his election shall have been an inhabitant of this state; shall be, at the time of his election, an inhabitant of the town, ward, place, or district he may be chosen to represent and shall cease to represent such town, ward, place, or district immediately on his ceasing to be qualified as aforesaid."

    Historical party control

    Republicans won control of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2020. In 2024, they won a 221-177 majority with one independent and one vacancy.

    The table below shows the partisan history of the New Hampshire House following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    New Hampshire House of Representatives election results: 1992-2024

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22 '24
    Democrats 136 112 143 154 140 119 148 239 224 102 221 160 173 233 187 199 177
    Republicans 258 286 255 242 256 281 252 161 176 298 179 239 227 167 213 201 221
    Other 6 2 2 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

    Trifecta history

    A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Democrats in New Hampshire held a state government trifecta for four years between 1992 and 2017. During that same period of time, Republicans held a trifecta for eight years.

    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. The table below shows state government trifectas in New Hampshire from 1992 to 2019.

    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

    Elections

    Elections by year

    New Hampshire state representatives serve two-year terms, with all seats up for election every two years. New Hampshire holds elections for its legislature in even years.

    2026

    See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2026

    Elections for the New Hampshire House of Representatives will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

    2024

    See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2024

    Elections for the New Hampshire House of Representatives took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was September 10, 2024. The filing deadline was June 14, 2024.

    In the 2024 elections, Republicans increased their majority from 197-191, with 11 vacancies and one nonpartisan member, to 221-177, with one vacancy and one independent member.

    New Hampshire House of Representatives
    Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
         Democratic Party 191 177
         Republican Party 197 221
         Independent 0 1
         Nonpartisan 1 0
         Vacancy 11 1
    Total 400 400

    2022

    See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2022

    Elections for the New Hampshire House of Representatives took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for September 13, 2022. The filing deadline was June 10, 2022.

    Heading into the 2022 election, Republicans held a 202-177 majority with one independent member and 20 vacancies. After the election, Republicans maintained their control with a 201-198 majority with one vacancy.

    New Hampshire House of Representatives
    Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
         Democratic Party 177 198
         Republican Party 202 201
         Independent 1 0
         Vacancy 20 1
    Total 400 400

    2020

    See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2020

    Elections for the office of New Hampshire House of Representatives took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for September 8, 2020. The filing deadline was June 12, 2020.

    In the 2020 election, Republicans won control of the New Hampshire House of Representatives with a majority of 213-187.

    New Hampshire House of Representatives
    Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
         Democratic Party 230 187
         Republican Party 156 213
         Libertarian Party 1 0
         Vacancy 13 0
    Total 400 400

    2018

    See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2018

    Elections for the New Hampshire House of Representatives took place in 2018. The semi-closed primary election took place on September 11, 2018, and the general election was held on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 15, 2018.[3]

    In the 2018 elections, Democrats gained control of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

    New Hampshire House of Representatives
    Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
         Democratic Party 167 233
         Republican Party 212 167
         Independent 2 0
         Vacancy 19 0
    Total 400 400

    2016

    See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2016

    Elections for the New Hampshire House of Representatives 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. All 400 seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives were up for election in 2016.

    Heading into the election, Republicans held a 230-157 majority with one Libertarian member and 12 vacancies.[4] Republicans lost 10 seats in the election, giving them a 227-173 majority.

    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

    Vacancies

    See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

    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.[10][11][12]

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

    District map

    See also: New Hampshire state legislative districts

    The state of New Hampshire has 228 legislative districts. The state Senate is made up of 24 senators elected from 24 districts. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 districts, making it the largest lower house in the nation, and the third largest parliamentary body in the world.

    Use the interactive map below to find your district.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in New Hampshire

    In New Hampshire, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[13]

    State law requires that state legislative districts "be contiguous, and maintain the boundaries of towns, wards, or unincorporated places." There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.[13]

    2020

    See also: Redistricting in New Hampshire after the 2020 census

    Upon completion of the 2020 census, New Hampshire will draft and enact new district maps. The House Redistricting Committee said it planned to make final map recommendations to the legislature on November 16-17, 2021. The Senate Redistricting Committee said it would consider proposed district boundaries in late January 2022.[14]

    2010

    New Hampshire received its local Census data on March 22, 2011. The state's population increased 6.5 percent, with Coos County being the only county to face a decrease (-0.2 percent). Growth in the larger cities was mild: Manchester grew by 2.4 percent, Nashua decreased by 0.1 percent, Concord grew by 4.9 percent, Derry decreased by 2.7 percent, and Dover grew by 11.5 percent.[15]

    At the time of redistricting, Republicans controlled the General Court, and the Democrats controlled the governorship. On March 23, 2012, Gov. John Lynch (D) signed into law a new Senate plan but vetoed the House map, citing a lack of representation in towns that exceed 3,000, which automatically merit their own representative; the Legislature overrode the veto on March 28, 2012. The Department of Justice -- which has the duty of pre-clearing New Hampshire redistricting maps under the Voting Rights Act -- approved the maps in May 2012. On June 19, 2012, several lawsuits regarding the House map were thrown out by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

    Sessions

    Legislation

    The legislation tracker below displays all legislation that the New Hampshire House of Representatives has approved in its most recent legislative session—this includes legislation that has been sent from the Senate to the House and legislation that has already been approved by the House and signed by the governor after its passage in the Senate. Information on legislation provided below includes the bill number, its name, progress, most recent action date, and sponsor. The tracker is fully interactive. Scroll up and down and side to side to see more. Click the bill number to read its text in full and see its voting history. You can click the headings to sort the content in the column. You can also rearrange the order of the headings by clicking and dragging them. Finally, in the bottom-left corner of the tracker is a magnifying glass, which, when clicked, will allow you to search for specific terms. The legislation tracker is maintained and updated by BillTrack50.

    Dates of legislative sessions in New Hampshire by year

    2025

    See also: 2025 New Hampshire legislative session and Dates of 2025 state legislative sessions

    In 2025, the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 8, 2025, and adjourn on June 26, 2025.



    About legislative sessions in New Hampshire

    The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution declares that any power not already given to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people.[26] State governments across the country use this authority to hold legislative sessions where a state's elected representatives meet for a period of time to draft and vote on legislation and set state policies on issues such as taxation, education, and government spending. The different types of legislation passed by a legislature may include resolutions, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, and bills that become law.

    The Second Part of the New Hampshire Constitution establishes when the New Hampshire General Court, of which the House is a part, is to be in session. Article 3 of the Second Part states that the General Court is to convene annually on the first Wednesday after the first Tuesday in January. Additionally, in even-numbered years, the General Court is to meet on the first Wednesday of December for organizational purposes.

    Legislative roles and procedures

    Every state legislature throughout the country features its own internal procedures that it uses to govern itself and how it interacts with other parts of state government. Ballotpedia's coverage of internal state legislative procedures includes veto overrides, the role of the legislature in the state budget, procedures for filling membership vacancies, and redistricting.

    Veto overrides

    Veto Override Graphic-No party.png

    See also: Veto overrides in state legislatures

    State legislatures can override governors' vetoes. Depending on the state, this can be done during the regular legislative session, in a special session following the adjournment of the regular session, or during the next legislative session. The rules for legislative overrides of gubernatorial vetoes in New Hampshire are listed below.

    How many legislators are required to vote for an override? Two-thirds of members in both chambers.

    Two-thirds of members in both chambers must vote to override a veto, which is 267 of the 400 members in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and 16 of the 24 members in the New Hampshire State Senate. New Hampshire is one of 36 states that requires a two-thirds vote from both of its legislative chambers to override a veto.

    Authority: Executive Power, Article 44 of the New Hampshire Constitution.

    "Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the general court, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor, if he approves, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it; if after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with such objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and, if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law."

    Role in state budget

    See also: New Hampshire state budget and finances
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    Check out Ballotpedia articles about policy in your state on:
    Budgets • Civil liberties • Education • Elections • Energy • Environment • Healthcare • Pensions

    The state operates on a biennial budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:[27]

    1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies in August.
    2. State agencies submit their requests by October 1.
    3. Public hearings are held in November.
    4. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the New Hampshire State Legislature by February 15.
    5. The legislature adopts a budget in May. A simple majority is required to pass a budget.
    6. The biennial budget cycle begins in July.

    New Hampshire is one of six states in which the governor cannot exercise line item veto authority.[27][28]

    In New Hampshire, the governor is required by statute to submit a balanced budget. In turn, the legislature is required to pass a balanced budget.[27]

    Committees

    See also: List of committees in New Hampshire state government

    Every state legislature and state legislative chamber in the country contains several legislative committees. These committees are responsible for studying, amending, and voting on legislation before it reaches the floor of a chamber for a full vote. The different types of committees include standing committees, select or special, and joint.

    • Standing committees are generally permanent committees, the names of which sometimes change from session to session.
    • Select or special committees are temporary committees formed to deal with specific issues such as recent legislation, major public policy or proposals, or investigations.
    • Joint committees are committees that feature members of both chambers of a legislature.

    Ballotpedia covers standing and joint committees. The New Hampshire House of Representatives has 24 standing committees:

    Finance - Division I (Standing Sub-committee)
    Finance - Division II (Standing Sub-committee)
    Finance - Division III(Standing Sub-committee)


    See also

    Elections New Hampshire State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    New Hampshire State Flag-Close Up.jpg
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    State Courts-Tile image.png

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ New Hampshire General Court, "House Leadership," accessed June 9, 2014
    2. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
    3. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Political Calendar 2018-2019," accessed November 9, 2017
    4. ↑ With vacancies counted towards the previous party, Republicans held a 237-162 majority with one Libertarian member.
    5. ↑ Follow the Money, "New Hampshire 2010 Campaign Contributions," accessed December 17, 2013
    6. ↑ Follow the Money, "New Hampshire 2008 Campaign Contributions," accessed August 14, 2013
    7. ↑ Follow the Money, "New Hampshire 2006 Campaign Contributions," accessed August 14, 2013
    8. ↑ Follow the Money, "New Hampshire 2004 Campaign Contributions," accessed August 14, 2013
    9. ↑ Follow the Money, "New Hampshire 2002 Campaign Contributions," accessed August 14, 2013
    10. ↑ State of New Hampshire, "State Constitution-House of Representatives," accessed February 10, 2021 (Sections 12 and 16)
    11. ↑ State of New Hampshire, "State Constitution-Senate," accessed February 10, 2021 (Section 34)
    12. ↑ New Hampshire General Court, "Title LXIII: Elections," accessed February 10, 2021 (Title LXIII, Chapter 661:8)
    13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 All About Redistricting, "New Hampshire," accessed May 5, 2015
    14. ↑ The New Hampshire Union Leader, "Senate redistricting delayed until early 2022," October 26, 2021
    15. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers New Hampshire's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting," accessed June 9, 2014
    16. ↑ New Hampshire Public Radio, "Guns, Gambling, Drugs and Medicaid Await Lawmakers," accessed January 6, 2016
    17. ↑ New Hampshire Business Review, "Taxes, workers’ comp at top of legislative agenda," January 8, 2015
    18. ↑ Vermont Public Radio, "New Hampshire Lawmakers Have Their Work Cut Out For Them," January 13, 2015
    19. ↑ The Associated Press, "Death, taxes, gambling face NH Legislature in 2014," January 5, 2014
    20. ↑ New Hampshire Business Review, "Nearly 300 bills being proposed in Concord could have an impact on business," January 10, 2014
    21. ↑ The Associated Press, "N.H. Legislature to convene 2014 session today," January 8, 2014
    22. ↑ Sentinel Source, "After a shake-up, N.H. legislators have new issues to tackle.," January 4, 2013
    23. ↑ Concord Monitor, "House GOP: Jobs the focus," January 4, 2012
    24. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar," accessed June 6, 2014(Archived)
    25. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2010 session dates for New Hampshire legislature," accessed June 9, 2014
    26. ↑ Find Law, "Tenth Amendment - U.S. Constitution," accessed May 20, 2017
    27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 National Association of State Budget Officers, "Budget Processes in the States, Spring 2021," accessed January 24, 2023
    28. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Separation of Powers: Executive Veto Powers," accessed January 26, 2024
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