The 2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

, concurrently with the

2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

, as well as

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. The primaries were held on September 13. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Maggie Hassan Margaret Coldwell Hassan (; née Wood; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from New Hampshire. A Democrat, Hassan was elected to the Senate in 2016 while serving as the 81st ...

was eligible to run for re-election to a third term in office, but she instead successfully ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent

Kelly Ayotte Kelly Ann Ayotte ( ; born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from New Hampshire from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Ayotte served as New Hampshire Attorney General from ...

. In the general election, Republican nominee

Chris Sununu Christopher Thomas Sununu ( ; born November 5, 1974) is an American politician and engineer who has served as the 82nd governor of New Hampshire since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Sununu was a member of the New Hampshire Executive Coun ...

defeated Democrat

Colin Van Ostern Colin Van Ostern (born Kevin Colin O’Loughlin; February 14, 1979), is an American businessman and politician who served on the New Hampshire Executive Council from 2013 to 2017, where he represented the state's second district. He is a member o ...

and Libertarian state representative

Max Abramson Albert "Max" Abramson (born April 29, 1976) is an American politician currently serving as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Rockingham District 37 ( Hampton Falls, Seabrook) since 2018. He previously repre ...

to become the first Republican governor of New Hampshire elected since 2002. With a margin of 2.27%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2016 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in North Carolina.

Background

Governor

, the incumbent from the Democratic Party, declined to run for reelection, choosing to seek a U.S. Senate seat instead. Both major parties had multiple declared candidates, leading to primary elections that were held September 13, 2016. New Hampshire and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

are the only states in the country whose governors are elected every two years.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

* Mark Connolly, former New Hampshire Deputy Secretary of State * Derek Dextraze * Ian Freeman, radio host *

Steve Marchand Steve Marchand (born January 10, 1974) is an American politician. He served as the mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from 2006 to 2008. He is the principal of SRM Consulting, a public affairs and strategic communications firm. Prior to that, he ...

, former mayor of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, Executive Councilor

Declined

Jackie Cilley Jacalyn L. Cilley (born August 5, 1951) is a former Democratic member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing the Strafford 4th District, and a former member of the New Hampshire Senate for the 6th district. Biography Ja ...

, state representative, former state senator and candidate for governor in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Dan Feltes Dan Feltes (born March 23, 1979) is an American lawyer, a member of the Democratic Party, and represented the 15th district of the New Hampshire Senate from 2014 until 2020. Feltes was chair of the Senate Ways & Means committee and was vice ch ...

, state senator *

, incumbent governor (running for U.S. Senate) *

Andrew Hosmer Andrew Hosmer (born March 1964) is an attorney, businessman and Democratic politician currently serving as the mayor of Laconia, New Hampshire. He previously served two terms (2012-2016) in the New Hampshire Senate The New Hampshire Senate h ...

, state senator *

Ann McLane Kuster Ann L. McLane Kuster (born September 5, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously worked as a lobbyist. Early life and education Kuster was b ...

, U.S. Representative (running for re-election) * Shawn O'Connor, businessman ( running for NH-01) * Chris Pappas, Executive Councilor * Stefany Shaheen,

City Councilor and daughter of U.S. Senator

Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen ( ; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American retired educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Hampshire since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Shaheen served as the 78 ...

* Carol Shea-Porter, former U.S. Representative ( running for NH-01) * Donna Soucy, state senator * Mike Vlacich, campaign manager for Senator Shaheen

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Frank Edelblut Frank Edelblut is an American businessman and politician who is the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education. Edelblut formerly served as a Republican member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. During his term in the ...

, state representative * Jeanie Forrester, state senator * Ted Gatsas, Mayor of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

* John Lavoie *

, Executive Councilor, son of former governor John H. Sununu and brother of former U.S. Senator John E. Sununu

Declined

Jeb Bradley Joseph E. "Jeb" Bradley (born October 20, 1952) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who serves in the New Hampshire Senate. He represents his hometown of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and 16 other towns in east-central New Ha ...

, Majority Leader of the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

and former U.S. Representative *

Walt Havenstein Walter Perry Havenstein (born April 24, 1949) is an American businessman, engineer, and former United States Marine. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of New Hampshire in 2014. Early life and education Havenstein is the son of Kathryn ...

, businessman and nominee for governor in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Donnalee Lozeau Donnalee Lozeau was the mayor of Nashua, New Hampshire, from 2007 to 2015. She was Nashua's first female mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, ...

, Mayor of

Nashua Nashua may refer to: * Nashaway people, Native American tribe living in 17th-century New England Places In Australia: * Nashua, New South Wales In the United States: * Nashua, California * Nashua, Iowa * Nashua, Minnesota * Nashua, Kansas City ...

* Chuck Morse, president of the

* Andy Sanborn, state senator

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian Party

Candidates

Declared

, state representative

Independents

Candidates

Declared

* Mike Gill, businessman * Jilletta Jarvis, training project manager

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 26, 2016 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Polling

;Aggregate polls ;with Maggie Hassan ;with Stefany Shaheen ;with Chris Pappas ;with Terie Norelli ;with Mark Connolly ;with Jackie Cilley

Results

Results by county

Notes

References

External links

Chris Sununu (R) for GovernorColin Van Ostern (D) for GovernorMax Abramson (L) for GovernorJilletta Jarvis (I) for Governor
{{2016 United States elections

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...