A special election is scheduled for March 10 in the Merrimack 24 District of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Kathleen Martins (D) and Elliot Axelman (R) are competing in the special election, and voters will have until 7 p.m. local time to cast their ballot.
The seat became vacant on December 13, 2019, when Dick Marple (R) passed away. He served in the state House from 1999 to 2000, 2002 to 2006, and 2014 to 2019.
Merrimack 24 is a multi-member district with four seats. The three other seats in the district are all currently held by Republicans. Martins ran in the 2018 general election for one of the four seats, but she placed fifth in the race and was 113 votes behind Marple.
Democrats control the state House by a 233-164 margin with one Libertarian member and two vacancies. 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 March, 33 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2020 in 15 states. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.
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