Concord, NH - After the polls closed on Election Day, the New Hampshire Democratic Party celebrated historic ‘firsts’ and record-breaking performances up and down the ticket. A total of 478 Democrats ran for elected positions across New Hampshire, including Congressman-elect Chris Pappas and Congresswoman Annie Kuster.
 
“Granite Staters have made their voices heard loud and clear tonight, and these victories are a testament to all of our hard work over the past year,” said Chairman Ray Buckley. “We commend all of the candidates who were brave and bold enough to run for an elected position in New Hampshire; and congratulations to our newly elected officials!”
 
Congress
 
Chris Pappas, New Hampshire’s next First Congressional District Representative, is the first openly gay person elected to federal office in New Hampshire. Pappas’ win also represents the first time in state history a Democrat was elected to succeed another Democrat in Congress.
 
Congresswoman Annie McLane Kuster is the first Democrat to have been elected to represent New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District four times.
 
State Senate and State House
 
Tonight, Democrats have regained the majority in both the Senate and House.  
As the next Senator of State Senate District 12, Melanie Levesque is the first African-American to be elected to the State Senate.
 
Safiya Wazir, one of the Young Dems, is the next Representative of Merrimack County District 8 and will be the first former Afghan refugee to ever serve in the New Hampshire state legislature.
Gerri Cannon (Strafford District 18) and Lisa Bunker (Rockingham District 18) will be the first transgender legislators to ever be elected to serve in the New Hampshire State House of Representatives.
 
Sue Mullen (Hillsborough District 7) became the first Democrat since 1935 to become a House Representative in her district.
 
NH Young Democrats
 
This year, New Hampshire had the 3rd highest number of young people run for state legislatures between the ages of 18-34 in the country with 53 candidates running at all levels of elected office (the most ever since the 1970s).
Garrett Muscatel will be the youngest LGBTQ+ individual elected to a state legislature in the entire country, at 20 years old.  
 
“This fight for an even stronger Granite State is not over until all individuals have access to quality education, healthcare is treated like a basic human right, and climate changes is treated like the imminent threat to our future that it actually is,” continued Chairman Buckley. “When we have diverse voices and experiences represented in the legislature, stronger results are delivered to our communities.”
 
History of Democratic Successes
 
This evening caps an incredibly successful past two years for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. The party has won 9 out of 11 special elections and turned five seats from red to blue. This includes the first red to blue flip in the country after Trump’s election, when State Rep Edie DesMarais became the first Democrat to represent Wolfeboro in over 100 years. State Senator Kevin Cavanaugh also scored the first Democratic State Senate victory in a special election since 1984.

In 2017, Joyce Craig became the first woman ever elected mayor in Manchester, ending 12-years of Republican control over the Queen City. Jim Bouley was also elected to a historic sixth term as Mayor of Concord. Shoshanna Kelly and Gloria Timmons became the first-ever women of color elected to citywide office in Nashua. Linda Harriott-Gathright joined Shoshanna, becoming the first two African-American women elected to Nashua’s Board of Aldermen. Gerri Cannon became the first-ever transgender elected official in New Hampshire. Cannon has been working alongside Mayor Dana Hilliard, New Hampshire’s first openly gay mayor, who was re-elected for a third term. Jeremy Hutchinson also became the first-ever LGBTQ+ elected official in Rochester’s history.
 
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