CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire primary voters are choosing candidates for governor, Congress and the state Legislature on Tuesday, setting the stage for short but intense general election campaigns.
Unlike its first presidential primary in the nation, New Hampshire is one of the last states to hold statewide primary elections, giving winners just eight weeks to woo voters before Nov. 5.
Two of the key races are particularly tight, with no incumbents running. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s decision not to seek a fifth two-year term means the seat is open for the first time since 2016. And the 2nd Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster is retiring after six terms, hasn’t been an open seat since 2010.
Six candidates are competing in the Republican Party gubernatorial primariesled by former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and former state Senate President Chuck Morse. Other candidates include Shaun Fife, Robert McClory, Richard McMenamon and Frank Staples.
Ayotte, who is also New Hampshire’s first female attorney general, is the third woman to be elected governor, joining Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan. Much of her campaign has focused on the anti-Massachusetts slogan “Don’t Mass it up,” as she has focused more on crime and immigration issues and less on traditional anti-tax rhetoric.
Morse, who led the state Senate for a decade, hopes to return to the Capitol after losing the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2022. He has sought to align himself closely with former President Donald Trump, criticizing Ayotte for rescinding her support for Trump in 2016 before backing him this year.
On the Democratic side, voters are choosing between three candidates, though the race is largely between former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and New Hampshire Executive Council member Cinde Warmington. Restaurant owner Jon Kiper is a distant second, both in fundraising and name recognition.
Craig also served on Manchester’s school board and city council before being elected the city’s first female mayor. She says leading the state’s largest city for three terms gives her the experience she needs to be governor, even as critics blame her for ongoing struggles with homelessness and crime.
Warmington, a lawyer, is serving her second term on the Executive Council, a five-member committee that approves state contracts and appointments to judges and state agencies. As the only Democrat, she frequently clashes with positions taken by her colleagues and the governor, particularly on issues related to health care and education. She has been criticized for her past work as a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry.
The other major races are in the Democratic-dominated 2nd Congressional District.
In the Democratic primary, Kuster endorsed a former staffer Colin Van Easterwho is also a former executive adviser who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2016. He faces stiff competition from Maggie Goodlanderwho grew up…
