New Hampshire is traditionally a fierce race in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries, but the general elections in the Granite State in 2024 are also shaping up to be a battle.
In New Hampshire, there will be no Senate election, but there will be elections for the president, United States House, and governor, all being held on Nov. 5, 2024. Here is a look at the critical elections in the Granite State.
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Gubernatorial race
With Gov. Chris Sununu‘s (R-NH) announcement that he would not be running for another term as governor, the Cook Political Report moved the race from “solid Republican” to “toss-up.”
Since Sununu’s announcement, two Republicans have announced bids to become the state’s next chief executive. Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Former New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse announced their candidacies after the current governor bowed out.
On the Democratic side, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and state Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington announced runs for governor in the past two months. The Granite State last elected a Democratic governor in 2014, when it reelected then-Gov. Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
Sununu won his last gubernatorial election in 2022 in a 57%-41.5% landslide.
House races
New Hampshire currently has two Democratic-held House seats, but one of them is being eyed by Republicans as a pickup opportunity.
Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) has represented the state’s 1st Congressional District since 2019, but with an “even” partisan voting index, according to the Cook Political Report, the GOP has made it one of its target seats in the 2024 elections.
The only declared Republican challenger to Pappas is Russell Prescott, who previously ran in 2022 but lost in the Republican primary to Karoline Leavitt. The Cook Political Report rates the race as “likely Democrat,” but as more challengers emerge the race could be viewed as more of a toss-up.
Presidential race
Republican presidential candidates haven’t fared well in New Hampshire in more than two decades. The last time a Republican picked up the Granite State’s four Electoral College votes was in 2000.
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Though the primary contest is undecided, polling from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center shows that both of the leading Republican presidential candidates, former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), trail President Joe Biden in a hypothetical general election in the Granite State, 49%-40%.
In 2016, Trump narrowly lost New Hampshire to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, 47.25%-47.62%, and lost more ground in 2020, losing to Biden, 45.36%-52.71%.
