A special election is being held in the Rockingham 9 district of the New Hampshire House of Representatives on October 8. Naomi Andrews (D) and Michael Vose (R) are running in the general election. Andrews worked as chief of staff and campaign manager to Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D) from 2007 to 2018. Vose represented Rockingham 9 from 2014 to 2018. He was defeated in the 2018 general election.

 

The seat became vacant when Sean Morrison (R) resigned in May 2019. Morrison cited “personal attacks, partisan politics and a lack of cooperation” between the state and town as his reasons for resigning. Morrison had represented the district since 2016. He last won re-election in 2018, taking second place with 26.8% of the vote. The Rockingham 9 district has two seats; Morrison and Vose had served together from 2017 through 2018.

 

Heading into the election, Democrats have a 233-165 majority in the New Hampshire House with one Libertarian member and one vacancy. New Hampshire has a divided government, and no political party holds a state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.

 

As of October, 77 state legislative special elections have been scheduled or held in 24 states. Between 2011 and 2018, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.