A special general election was held for the Cheshire 9 District of the New Hampshire House of Representatives on Oct. 26. Andrew Maneval (D) won the special election with 1,209 votes, 64.9% of the vote total, and defeated Rita Mattson (R).
A Democratic primary and a Republican primary were held on Sept. 7. The filing deadline passed on July 9. The special election was called after Douglas Ley (D) died of cancer on June 10. Ley served from 2012 to 2021.
As of October, 64 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. New Hampshire held 29 special elections from 2010 to 2020, an average of nearly three per year.
Four New Hampshire House of Representatives special elections have been held so far in 2021. A fifth is scheduled in the Rockingham 6 District for Dec. 7.
As of October, the New Hampshire House of Representatives had 188 Democrats and 207 Republicans. All 400 seats are up for election in 2022. A majority in the chamber requires 201 seats. New Hampshire has a Republican trifecta. A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.
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