New Hampshire Gubernatorial Race Finishes with Sununu Win - State and Federal Communications

November 7, 2018  •  

New Hampshire Gubernatorial Race Finishes with Sununu Win

Incumbent Republican Governor Chris Sununu won last night’s election in New Hampshire. New Hampshire is only one of two states where governors are elected to two-year terms.

Sununu, son of former governor John H. Sununu, was first elected in 2016.  At 42 years old, he was the youngest governor in the United States when he initially took office.

Sununu’s centrist platform focused on the strong economy, low unemployment rate, success with fighting the state’s opioid crisis, and reforming mental health and child welfare systems, according to US News.

Molly Kelly, a former state senator from Harrisville, was the 2018 democratic challenger. Kelly presented a strong challenge to Sununu, despite early polling indications giving him a double digit projected win.

Despite the strong challenge, this was an uphill battle—state voters very rarely unseat an incumbent governor after their first term, with only two governors in the last 100 years losing after one term.

Despite the governor’s office being a democratic stronghold from 1997 to 2017, New Hampshire has elected 13 Republican governors since World War 2.

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