2019 Election Watch: NH District 9 Special Election

While there are not a lot of high profile elections in 2019, we have decided to profile a few interesting races that may give hints about voter momentum in some key locations. Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting several interesting races to watch in New England that may give hints as to the state of politics. Our first election-to-watch is actually a special election that has been scheduled for October 9 of this year that is for the New Hampshire House of Representatives District 9 Rockingham County which is comprised of the town of Epping, a town of approximately 6,500 people that is 96% white with a per capita income of $35,000. What makes a District 9 election so interesting is that this district is decidedly purple. In 2012, Obama carried the town of Epping by a vote of 1,793 to Romney’s 1,697 (and Gary Johnson’s 56). In 2016, Trump flipped the town winning 2,117 votes to Clinton’s 1,625 (and Johnson’s 179). The state legislature elections are usually held in even years and local residents vote for two individuals to represent them in the 9th District (both parties nominate two candidates and voters can select their two favorite). In 2016, voters elected two Republican candidates but in 2018 – a year that nationally favored the Democrats, they split the vote by electing one Republican and one Democrat. The Republican state representative Sean Morrison resigned this year citing “partisan politics” and “personal attacks” as his reason for resigning. The Republicans have nominated Michael Vose, a former State Rep who lost his seat in 2018. The Democrats have nominated Naomi Andrews, a long time Democratic staffer. In short, both Vose and Andrews are strong candidates. The 9th District seat will be a good test for who has the better ground game, particularly since there will be no other elections on the ballot and could easily see turnout well below the typical Presidential or even mid-year level. We’ll be watching to see if 2019 is a repeat of 2018 when Democrats picked up seats both state wide in NH and nationally, or if it more closely resembles 2016 when Trump’s coattails carried many state Republicans to victory. Stay tuned to NewEnglandPolitics as we cover the local elections that could be harbingers of the 2020 Presidential election.