New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2022
|
2024 →
← 2020
|
|
| 2022 New Hampshire Senate Elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | September 13, 2022 |
| General | November 8, 2022 |
| Past Election Results |
| 2020・2018・2016・2014 2012・2010・2008 |
| 2022 Elections | |
|---|---|
| Choose a chamber below: | |
Elections for the New Hampshire State Senate 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.
The New Hampshire State Senate was one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2022. There are 99 chambers throughout the country. At the time of the 2022 elections, Republicans held a majority in more chambers than Democrats. There was a Republican majority in 62 chambers and a Democratic majority in 36 chambers. In the Alaska House, there was a power-sharing agreement between the parties as part of a coalition.
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia identified eight battleground races in the New Hampshire State Senate 2022 elections, five of which were Democratic-held districts while the other three were Republican-held districts. Based on analysis of these districts' electoral histories, these races had the potential to be more competitive than other races and could possibly have led to shifts in a chamber's partisan balance.
All 24 seats were up for election in 2022. The chamber's Republican majority increased from 13-10 (with one vacancy) to 14-10.
At the time of the 2022 election, New Hampshire had had a Republican trifecta since the Republican Party won control of the state House and state Senate in 2020. If the Democratic Party flipped two or more seats, then the Republican Party would have lost its trifecta. If the Republican Party lost no more than one seat and maintained control of the state House and the governorship, they would have kept their trifecta. This was one of 28 state legislative chambers Ballotpedia identified as a battleground chamber in 2022. Click here for more on why this chamber was identified as a battleground.
Party control
| New Hampshire State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
| Democratic Party | 10 | 10 | |
| Republican Party | 13 | 14 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 24 | |
Candidates
General
New Hampshire State Senate General Election 2022 |
|||
|
|||
| Office |  Democratic |
 Republican |
Other |
| District 1 |
|
||
| District 2 |
|
||
| District 3 |
|
|
|
| District 4 |
|
|
|
| District 5 |
|
|
|
| District 6 |
|
|
|
| District 7 |
|
||
| District 8 |
|
|
|
| District 9 |
|
|
|
| District 10 |
|
||
| District 11 |
Gary Daniels (i) |
|
|
| District 12 |
|
|
|
| District 13 |
|
||
| District 14 |
|
|
|
| District 15 |
|
|
|
| District 16 |
Did not make the ballot: |
|
|
| District 17 |
|
||
| District 18 |
|
|
|
| District 19 |
|
|
|
| District 20 |
|
|
|
| District 21 |
|
||
| District 22 |
|
||
| District 23 |
|
|
|
| District 24 |
|
||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate ConnectionPrimary
New Hampshire State Senate Primary 2022 |
|||
|
|||
| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| District 1 |
|
||
| District 2 |
|
||
| District 3 |
|
||
| District 4 |
|
|
|
| District 5 |
|
|
|
| District 6 |
|
|
|
| District 7 |
|
||
| District 8 |
|
|
|
| District 9 |
|
|
|
| District 10 |
|
||
| District 11 |
|
||
| District 12 |
|
|
|
| District 13 |
|
||
| District 14 |
|
|
|
| District 15 |
|
|
|
| District 16 |
|
|
|
| District 17 |
|
||
| District 18 |
|
|
|
| District 19 |
No candidates filed for the Democratic primary |
|
|
| District 20 |
|
|
|
| District 21 |
No candidates filed for the Republican primary |
|
|
| District 22 |
|
||
| District 23 |
Did not make the ballot: |
|
|
| District 24 |
|
||
2022 battleground chamber
The New Hampshire State Senate was among 28 state legislative chambers Ballotpedia identified as battleground chambers for the 2022 cycle.
What was at stake?
- The Democratic Party needed to gain two or more seats to take control of the chamber in 2022. The Republican Party needed to lose one or fewer seats to maintain control.
- The Democratic Party flipping the state Senate would have broken the Republican Party's trifecta. The Republican Party would have needed to keep the state Senate as well as the state House and the governorship to maintain their trifecta.
Why was it a battleground?
- Seats needed to flip: The Democratic Party needed to flip two seats (8% of seats up) in order to win control of the chamber.
- Seats flipped in the last election: Four of the seats up for election (17% of seats up) flipped to a different party the last time they were up.
- More seats flipped in the last election than needed to flip in 2022: The number of seats that flipped the last time they were up for election (four, or 17% of seats up) is larger than the number that would need to flip in 2022 in order to change control of the chamber (two, or 8% of seats up).
- History of recent flips: Control of the New Hampshire State Senate flipped twice between 2012 and 2022. Democrats gained a majority in 2018, followed by Republicans in 2020.
- 2020 battleground chamber: The New Hampshire State Senate was a battleground chamber in 2020. That year, the Democratic Party lost four seats and the Republican Party won control of the chamber. Read more about the 2020 elections here.
Battleground races
District 4
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the Democratic Party maintains a partisan lean of less than 55% according to Dave's Redistricting. In 2020, Democratic incumbent David Watters was re-elected with 61% of the vote compared to Republican candidate Frank Bertone’s 37% of the vote. |
District 9
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Republican Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the Republican Party maintains a partisan lean of less than 55% according to Dave's Redistricting. In 2020, Republican candidate Denise Ricciardi was elected with 50.6% of the vote compared to Democratic incumbent Jeanne Dietsch's 49.4% of the vote. |
District 11
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Republican Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the Republican Party maintains a partisan lean of less than 55% according to Dave's Redistricting. In 2020, Republican candidate Gary Daniels received 50.2% of the vote compared to Democratic incumbent Shannon Chandley’s 49.8% of the vote. |
District 12
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Republican Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the Republican Party maintains a partisan lean of less than 55% according to Dave's Redistricting. In 2020, Republican candidate Kevin Avard received 51% of the vote compared to Democratic incumbent Melanie Levesque’s 48.8% of the vote. |
District 13
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district where the Democratic Party maintains a partisan lean of less than 55% according to Dave's Redistricting. In 2020, Democratic incumbent Lucinda Rosenwald received 58.6% of the vote compared to Republican candidate Mariellen MacKay’s 41.4% of the vote. |
District 18
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district with a Democratic incumbent where the Republican Party maintains a partisan lean of less than 55% according to Dave's Redistricting. Add a sentence or two here listing out the candidates in the last election and how much of the vote they received. |
District 20
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
|
|
What made this a battleground race?
| This was a district with a Democratic incumbent where the partisan lean is almost evenly divided according to Dave's Redistricting. In 2020, Democratic incumbent Lou D’Allesandro was re-elected with 54.6% of the vote compared to Republican candidate Carla Gericke’s 43.6% of the vote. |
District 24
What party controlled the seat heading into the election?
| The Democratic Party |
Who were the candidates running?
What made this a battleground race?
| This was an open district where the partisan lean is almost evenly divided according to Dave's Redistricting. In 2020, Democratic incumbent Tom Sherman was re-elected with 52.3% of the vote compared to Republican candidate Louis Gargiulo’s 47.7% of the vote. |
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. Click a link below to read survey responses from candidates in that district:
Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in general elections
One incumbent lost in the Nov. 8 general election.
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Gary Daniels |  Republican |
Senate District 11 |
Incumbents defeated in primary elections
No incumbents lost in primaries.
Retiring incumbents
Eight incumbents were not on the ballot in 2022.[1] Those incumbents were:
| Name | Party | Office | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erin Hennessey | Republican |
Senate District 1 | Resigned |
| Bob Giuda | Republican |
Senate District 2 | Retired |
| Harold French | Republican |
Senate District 7 | Other office |
| Jay Kahn |  Democratic |
Senate District 10 | Retired |
| Kevin Cavanaugh | Democratic |
Senate District 16 | Other office |
| John Reagan | Republican |
Senate District 17 | Retired |
| Chuck Morse | Republican |
Senate District 22 | Other office |
| Tom Sherman | Democratic |
Senate District 24 | Other office |
Primary election competitiveness
This section contains data on state legislative primary election competitiveness in New Hampshire. These totals include data from all regularly-scheduled House and Senate elections. For more information about Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in New Hampshire in 2022. Information below was calculated on Sept. 2, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
New Hampshire had 89 contested state legislative primaries in 2022, 20% of the total number of possible primaries, and a 31% increase from 2020.
The rate of contested primaries in 2022 was at its highest point compared to the four preceding election cycles.
Of the 89 contested primaries, there were 20 for Democrats and 69 for Republicans. For Democrats, this was down from 30 in 2020, a 33% decrease. For Republicans, the number was up 82% from 38 in 2020.
One hundred sixteen incumbents faced primary challenges, representing 38% of all incumbents running for re-election. This was higher than in 2020 and 2018, but lower than 2016 when 41% of incumbents faced contested primaries.
Of the 116 incumbents in contested primaries, 26 were Democrats and 90 were Republicans.
Overall, 904 major party candidates—430 Democrats and 474 Republicans—filed to run. All 400 House and 24 Senate seats were up for election.
One hundred twenty-six of those seats were open, meaning no incumbents filed. This guaranteed that at least 30% of the legislature would be represented by newcomers in 2023, the largest such percentage since at least 2014.
Open seats
The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the New Hampshire State Senate from 2010 to 2022.[2] It will be updated as information becomes available following the state’s candidate filing deadline.
| Open Seats in New Hampshire State Senate elections: 2010 - 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Seats with incumbents running for re-election |
| 2022 | 24 | 8 (33%) | 16 (67%) |
| 2020 | 24 | 3 (13%) | 21 (87%) |
| 2018 | 24 | 2 (8%) | 22 (92%) |
| 2016 | 24 | 7 (29%) | 17 (71%) |
| 2014 | 24 | 3 (13%) | 21 (87%) |
| 2012 | 24 | 9 (38%) | 15 (62%) |
| 2010 | 24 | 5 (21%) | 19 (79%) |
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: New Hampshire Revised Statutes, Chapter 655: Nominations
For party candidates
A recognized political party candidate seeking placement on the primary election ballot must file a declaration of candidacy. On this declaration, the candidate must affirm that he or she is both a registered voter and a registered member of the party whose nomination he or she is pursuing.[3]
In addition to filing the declaration of candidacy, the candidate must do one of the following.[4]
1.) Pay an administrative assessment fee. Fees are established by state law and vary according to the office being sought.[4][5]
| Administrative assessment fees | |
|---|---|
| Office | Fee |
| Governor, United States Senator | $100 |
| United States Representative | $50 |
| Executive Councilor | $25 |
| State Senator | $10 |
| State Representative | $2 |
2.) File primary petitions. The number of required petition papers (each of which contains one signature) is established by state law and varies according to the office being sought.[4][5]
| Primary petitions | |
|---|---|
| Office | Number of petitions |
| Governor, United States Senator | 200 |
| United States Representative | 100 |
| Executive Councilor | 50 |
| State Senator | 20 |
| State Representative | 5 |
A written "assent to candidacy" must accompany the submitted primary petitions.[4][6]
A candidate for state-level office must also file a financial disclosure form.[7]
Filing paperwork for most offices is submitted to the New Hampshire Secretary of State. Filing paperwork for state House candidates is submitted to the town or city clerk of the municipality where the candidate resides. Filings must be made between the first Wednesday in June and the Friday of the following week.[4][8]
For nonparty candidates
A candidate seeking placement on the general election ballot must file a declaration of intent. The declaration of intent must be filed between the first Wednesday in June and the Friday of the following week.[9][10]
In addition to filing this declaration, the candidate must do one of the following.[4]
1.) Pay an administrative assessment fee. Fees are established by state law and vary according to the office being sought.[4]
| Administrative assessment fees | |
|---|---|
| Office | Fee |
| Governor, United States Senator | $100 |
| United States Representative | $50 |
| Executive Councilor | $25 |
| State Senator | $10 |
| State Representative | $2 |
2.) File nomination papers. Nomination papers must include the name and residence of the candidate, the office being sought, and the political organization or principles the candidate represents. The number of required nomination papers (each of which contains one signature) is established by state law and varies according to the office being sought.[4][11]
| Nomination papers | |
|---|---|
| Office | Number of papers |
| Governor, United States Senator | 3,000** |
| United States Representative | 1,500 |
| Executive Councilor | 750 |
| State Senator | 750 |
| State Representative | 150 |
| ** Of the 3,000 required signatures/papers, 1,500 must be collected from each of the state's two congressional districts. | |
A candidate for state-level office must also file a financial disclosure form.[7]
Prior to final filing, nomination papers must be submitted for certification to the Supervisors of the Checklist in each town or city where signatures were collected. Nomination papers must be submitted for certification by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday five weeks before the primary. Nomination papers are ultimately due to the New Hampshire Secretary of State by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday before the primary.[4]
For write-in candidates
A write-in candidate does not need to file any special forms in order to have his or her votes tallied. In the event that a write-in candidate wins the nomination of a party at a primary election, he or she is required to file a declaration of candidacy with the New Hampshire Secretary of State no later than the first Monday following the primary election. Also, a write-in candidate must have received at least 35 votes in order to be considered the winner of a primary election.[12]
Qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the New Hampshire Senate, a candidate must be:[13]
- At least thirty years of age
- A resident of the state for seven years immediately preceding the election
- An inhabitant of the district for which they are chosen
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2025[14] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $100/year | No per diem is paid. |
When sworn in
New Hampshire legislators assume office on the first Wednesday of December following the general election.[15]
New Hampshire political history
Trifectas
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.
New Hampshire Party Control: 1992-2026
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Fifteen 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 | 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 | 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 | R |
Presidential politics in New Hampshire
2016 Presidential election results
| U.S. presidential election, New Hampshire, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
46.8% | 348,526 | 4 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 46.5% | 345,790 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 4.1% | 30,777 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 0.9% | 6,496 | 0 | |
| American Delta | Roque De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg | 0.1% | 678 | 0 | |
| - | Write-in votes | 1.6% | 12,029 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 744,296 | 4 | |||
| Election results via: New Hampshire Secretary of State | |||||
Note: Write-in votes from New Hampshire can be found here.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in New Hampshire
Redistricting following the 2020 census
On March 23, 2022, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed a new state house map into law. On May 6, Sununu signed a new state senate map into law. These maps took effect for New Hampshire's 2022 elections.
See also
| New Hampshire | State Legislative Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 |
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines a seat as open if the incumbent did not file to run for re-election or filed but withdrew and did not appear on any ballot for his or her seat. If the incumbent withdrew from or did not participate in the primary but later chose to seek re-election to his or her seat as a third party or independent candidate, the seat would not be counted as open. If the incumbent retired or ran for a different seat in the same chamber, his or her original seat would be counted as open unless another incumbent from the same chamber filed to run for that seat, in which case it would not be counted as open due to the presence of an incumbent.
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:17," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "New Hampshire - Filing Period," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:19-c," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:25," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Election Forms," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:14," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:17-a," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:14-a," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:42," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 659:88," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ Qualifications to serve in the New Hampshire Senate (Pg. 18) (dead link)
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2025 Legislator Compensation," December 2, 2025
- ↑ New Hampshire Constitution, "Part II, Article 3," accessed February 10, 2021
