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New Hampshire voters Tuesday staged a historic race in the House, which will result in the election of the first openly gay member or the first African-American member of the state.
The Democrats chose Manchester's openly gay politician, Chris Pappas, for their nomination in the 1st congressional district, while the Republicans accompanied Eddie Edwards, a former black police chief, in their primary.
The district, which includes the coasts of Manchester and the state, has often changed hands between the parties; In 2016, Representative Carol Shea-Porter (D) won only 1.4 points, while Hillary Clinton nearly equalized her.
Eleven Democrats plunged into the race after Shea-Porter announced his retirement, including Levi Sanders, the son of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
But the race quickly became a battle between Pappas and Iraq war veteran Maura Sullivan – whom Pappas won in a rout. Levi Sanders, who did not live in the neighborhood, was trailing far behind. The GOP primary was closer, Edwards retaining a regular lead over Sen. Andy Sanborn, who conceded three hours after polls closed.
Pappas, who won his first race at the age of 22, had been at the helm of the team for a long time. It was approved by the state's Democratic senators and by Representative Ann Kuster (D). In the commercials, he highlighted his experience in running the Puritan Backroom restaurant and noted that almost all his donations came from New Hampshire.
It was easy to hear Sullivan, an Illinois native who moved to New Hampshire last year and quickly put together a congressional offer. It raised $ 1.8 million, more than double Pappas' $ 800,000, of which only 3% came from New Hampshire. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), His high-ranking supporters, including Emily's List and Rep., Urged voters to focus less on his background and on his experience as a veteran and member of the Obama administration.
"I'm now sitting in Congress with a lot of members who do not represent where they grew up," said Moulton after an appearance in July with Sullivan.
With few political differences separating the candidates – both Pappas and Sullivan were in favor of a "public option" to extend medicare – the race has often focused on Sullivan's record and roots.
After Sullivan declared in television commercials that she "fought" in Iraq, the Republicans demanded she prove she was fighting, an attack she called ignorant. After it was revealed that she had not voted in the 2010 and 2014 primaries, other candidates accused her of insulting the process.
The Republican primary, sometimes, became even more mean. Sanborn, a libertarian-minded businessman who had won several tough races, led the pack in fundraising. But he could not oust Edwards, who touted his recommendations of Trump's allies as former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Republican candidate of the 1st district, Eddie Edwards, spoke during a debate in Manchester, New Zealand, last week. (Elise Amendola / AP)
The main fight in the race was on a an investigation by the state Attorney General into whether Sanborn made inappropriate comments about a staff member who left his office. The senator flatly denied that he acted badly and the investigation revealed no wrongdoing.
"I have never seen so much fake news," Sanborn told NHPR in June. "Five years ago, I answered a joke with one of my friends and we were just joking. And now, five years later, people are still trying to create something out of nothing.
But Edwards warned that the scandal would make Sanborn unselectable – a powerful charge in the district, where former MP Frank Guinta (R) was defeated by a campaign finance scandal.
"We can not afford to put someone on a stage that can not stand up and holds our values," said Edwards in one of the final debates.
There was less intrigue before the other primaries of Tuesday, at the races where the holders are strongly favored to win. In the race for governor of the Democrats, Senator Molly Kelly easily defeated Steve Marchand, a former Mayor of Portsmouth, who also ran and lost to the 2016 primary.
Political supporters and pollsters see an important advantage for Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who has benefited from a growing economy and has sometimes challenged the right of his party. But the Democrats, spurred on by a series of special election victories since the 2016 elections, have planned to challenge Sununu as a tool of commercial interests who signed controversial Republican bills – including one that made voting harder for students.
Late Monday night, three Republicans were caught in a race to challenge Kuster (D), who has $ 2.7 million to spend on reelection. None of the GOP's hopes were more than $ 170,000 and the race was not highly targeted by Republicans defending in dozens of less Democratic seats.
With their selected candidates, Democrats also viewed their high turnout as a reason for optimism. More Democrats than Republicans voted in the 1st district, and the statewide vote for the governor is about to pass the 72,500 in the 2016 Democratic primary.
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