Incumbent Rep. Annie Kuster (D) and Bob Burns (R) running in NH-02


Incumbent Rep. Annie Kuster (D) and Bob Burns (R) are running for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District on Nov. 8, 2022.

Kuster first took office in 2013. She said, “I will protect access to safe, legal abortion, and my opponent, Mr. Burns, won’t, and that’s the difference. That’s what’s on the ballot this November.” Kuster is also campaigning on her record in Congress, saying she has put New Hampshirites over partisan politics, including by working with both parties to increase economic opportunities and by supporting a ban on members of Congress trading stock.

Burns said, “Managing taxpayer money as the Hillsborough County Treasurer and managing the payroll at Burns Automation is the type of real-world experience that is needed now more than ever in Congress.” Burns said people won’t want to vote for Democrats due to high oil costs this fall. He said he would like to ban abortion but didn’t think it was going to happen and that he supports “a fetal heartbeat bill. That’s abortion up to 12 weeks.”

Kuster defeated Steve Negron (R) 54% to 44% in 2020 and 56% to 42% in 2018. That year, Burns placed fourth in the 2nd District Republican primary with 16%.

The outcome of this race will affect the partisan balance of the U.S. House in the 118th Congress. All 435 House districts are up for election. Democrats hold a 221-212 majority. Republicans need to gain a net of six districts to win a majority in the chamber.

Daily Kos calculated what the 2020 presidential election results in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 53.6% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 44.7%.