House races to watch on Nov. 5

The NH House and Senate together form the legislative branch of the state. Lawmakers in the House work alongside the governor in Concord to form legislation, set levels for state spending, raise or lower taxes, and also have the power to override the governor’s vetoes.

All 400 seats in the New Hampshire House are up for election on Nov.5, and election cycles run every two years. View your sample ballot to find out who is running from your district.

How much compensation do representatives in the House receive?

House representatives get a small salary of $100 a year, or $200 for every two-year term.

Key House races to look out for:

Rockingham District 1 that includes Nottingham and Northwood (3 seats)

Democrats lost in all three seats by narrow margins in 2022, incumbent Hal Rafter lost by just 25 votes but in 2023 he won in a special election.

Democratic candidates: Hal Rafter, Charlotte Fyfe and Pamela Sanderson are running for the three seats in the district.

Republican candidates: Paul Tudor, Scott Bryer and James Guzofski.

Incumbents: Jacob Brouillard (R), Hal Rafter (D) and Paul Tudor (R).

Policy positions:

	Abortion	Education	Housing/Taxes
Hal Rafter	Is pro-abortion and believes medical decisions should be left to women and their doctors.	He thinks public education is under attack in the state, and does not support book bans or prohibition on teaching gender and race-related content in classrooms.	Believes that property taxes are a real burden for Granite Staters, and wants to reduce them.
Charlotte Fyfe	Will protect the right to safe, accessible reproductive healthcare	Supports excellent, inclusive public schools.	Wants to help reduce the NH property tax burden on working people and seniors by initiating a Fair Funding model of taxation, by taxing the wealthy.
Pamela Sanderson	Will protect the right to reproductive freedoms.	Supports expansion of funding for public education.	Supports the state to consider zoning changes to encourage housing development.
Republicans
Paul Tudor	Has previously voted in favor of banning abortion after 24 weeks in the state	Supports book-banning, and want to prohibit race and gender-related discussions inside public school classrooms.	Does not want the state to consider zoning changes to encourage housing development. Does not believe in fair taxation.
Scott Bryer	Has previously voted in favor of banning abortion after 24 weeks in the state	Supports book-banning, and want to prohibit race and gender-related discussions inside public school classrooms.	Would consider letting the state consider zoning changes to encourage housing development. But, does NOT believe in fair taxation.
James Guzofski	Has voted in favor of a near total ban on abortion in the state.	Support book-banning, and want to prohibit race and gender-related discussions inside public school classrooms.	Does not want the state to consider zoning changes to encourage housing development. Does not believe in fair taxation.

Stafford District 8 that includes Rochester Ward 4 (1 seat)

The 2022 election from the district resulted in a 970-970 tie— an election tie that became widely talked about in the national media. Democratic incumbent Chuck Grassie called a win in last year’s special election by an almost 12-point margin.

Democratic candidate: Chuck Grassie

Republican candidate: Samuel Farrington

Incumbent: Chuck Grassie (D)

Policy positions:

	Abortion	Education	Housing/ Taxes
Democrat
Chuck Grassie	Wants to codify abortion as a New Hampshire state statute	Supports expansion of funding for public education. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Wants to expand affordable housing, voted in favor of allowing the construction of accessory dwelling units.
Republican
Samuel Farrington	Does not believe in codifying New Hampshire’s current abortion law in the constitution.	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets family use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools.	Does not believe in fair taxation.

Sullivan County District 7 that includes parts of Cornish, Plainfield, Newport, Unity and Charlestown (1 seat)

Democratic candidate: Jenny Ramsey

Republican candidate: Margaret Drye

Incumbent: Margaret Drye (R)

Policy positions:

	Abortion	Education	Housing/ Taxes
Democrat
Jenny Ramsey	Will protect the right to reproductive freedoms.	Supports expansion of funding for public education, and is against New Hampshire’s education freedom accounts program. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Supports the state to consider zoning changes to encourage housing development.
Republican
Margaret Drye	Is an extreme anti-abortion candidate, and wants to make abortion an “unthinkable” option.	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets families use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools. Wants to ban books discussing racial and gender-related topics in classrooms.	Does not believe in fair taxation.

Rockingham County District 29 that includes Hampton (4 seats)

Democratic candidates: Chris Muns, Mike Edgar, Scott Blair, Erica De Vries

Republican candidates: Nicolas Bridle, David Hagen, Ken Sheffert, Bruce Theriault

Incumbents: Michael Edgar (D), Tracy Emerick (R), Chris Muns (D), and Candice O’Neil (D).

	Abortion	Education	Housing/taxes
Democrat
Chris Muns	Will protect the right to reproductive freedoms.	Supports expansion of funding for public education, and is against New Hampshire’s education freedom accounts program. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Supports the state to consider zoning changes to encourage housing development.
Mike Edgar	Will protect the right to reproductive freedoms. Voted against the bill that would have prohibited abortion after 15 days.	Supports expansion of funding for public education, and is against New Hampshire’s education freedom accounts program. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Wants to expand affordable housing. Would consider allowing the construction of accessory dwelling units.
Scott Blair	Will protect the right to reproductive freedoms. Believes abortion should be a decision left between a woman and her doctor.	Supports expansion of funding for public education, and is against New Hampshire’s education freedom accounts program. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Supports the state to consider zoning changes to encourage housing development.
Erica De Vries	Will protect the right to reproductive freedoms.	Supports expansion of funding for public education, and is against New Hampshire’s education freedom accounts program. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Will vote for policies that will incentivize new and responsible development.
Republicans
Nicolas Bridle	Wants a near total abortion ban.	Undecided on his position on New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Accounts program.	Does not have a strong policy proposal on housing.
David Hagen	Maintains an anti-abortion stance.	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets families use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools.	Does not believe in fair taxation.
Ken Sheffert	Maintains and extreme anti-abortion stance	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets families use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools.	Does not believe in fair taxation.
Bruce Theriault	Maintains an anti-abortion stance.	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets families use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools.	Believes the housing crisis can only be solved by closing the borders, no other strong proposal on housing policy.

Hillsborough District 29 that includes Goffstown (4 seats)

Democratic candidates: Judi Lanza, Judy Johnson, Jim Craig, Melanie Renfrew-Hebert

Republican candidates: Joe Alexander Jr., Sheila Seidel, Henry Giasson, Sherri Reinfurt

Incumbent: Judi Lanza (D), Joe Alexander Jr. (R), Sheila Seidel (R), Fred Plett (R)

Policy position:

	Abortion	Education	Housing/Taxes
Democrats
Judi Lanza	Supports New Hampshire’s current abortion law.	Supports expansion of funding for public education. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Supports the state to consider zoning changes to encourage housing development.
Judy Johnson	Will protect reproductive freedoms in the state.	Supports expansion of funding for public education. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Believes in fair taxation, and taxing the rich. Wants to decrease property taxes, especially for seniors on a fixed income.
Jim Craig	Will protect reproductive freedoms in the state.	Supports expansion of funding for public education. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Believes in fair taxation.
Melanie Renfrew-Hebert	Does not support an abortion ban, will protect reproductive freedom.	Supports expansion of funding for public education. Does not believe in banning books in schools.	Believes in fair taxation, and taxing the rich.
Republicans
Joe Alexander Jr.	Supports a ban on abortion	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets families use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools.	Does not believe in fair taxation.
Sheila Seidel	Wants a near-total ban on abortion.	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets families use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools.	Has no strong policy proposal on housing.
Henry Giasson	Supports New Hampshire’s current abortion law.	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets families use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools.	Does not support the state to consider zoning changes to encourage more housing development.
Sherri Reinfurt	Did not respond	Does not support public education, wants to expand NH’s education freedom accounts program that lets families use taxpayer money to send kids to private and religious schools.	Does not believe in fair taxation.