We had two big crossword finishers last week.

🏆 Christy Roberts — 5:50 minutes

🏆 Sarah Brown — 6:41 minutes

Last week’s theme was iconic New Hampshire towns.

This week’s theme? Famous Granite Staters.

Here’s what’s inside today’s newsletter:

📰 What we’re reading, including: High housing costs are pushing Granite Staters into poverty

🗳️ Your midterm election cheat sheet: The four New Hampshire races that could actually flip

🌮 Best Seacoast tacos: 12 spots locals love

📢 Question of the week: Where do you actually get information about candidates before voting? Sound off!

🔠 Solve our crossword. The theme? Famous Granite Staters

🏠 NH housing costs are pushing residents into poverty …

A new analysis found that housing costs account for 16% of poverty in New Hampshire and 22% of child poverty, despite the state’s relatively low overall poverty rate. NHPR

🏘️ A NH town is wrestling with how to make housing more affordable …

Warner residents are debating zoning changes that could allow more homes on smaller lots, but some worry about losing the town’s rural character. NHPR

🗳️ Can NH college students use their school IDs to vote? Confusion remains …

A federal judge ruled that election workers can still consider student IDs when verifying voters’ identities, despite a new state law restricting their use. Some UNH students worry the conflicting rules could discourage voting. WMUR

By Colin Booth

New Hampshire’s congressional races are getting a shakeup this year.

After three terms, US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is retiring, leaving her seat open for the first time since 2008. Open seats can create opportunities for either party to gain ground.

And because US Rep. Chris Pappas is running for Senate, his House seat is also up for grabs.

The stakes go beyond New Hampshire. Control of the US Senate will determine which party sets the agenda, leads committees, and oversees investigations during the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. 

Crescencio and Miguel Tellez, the brothers who are owners of Cinco’s Cantina, display freshly made escuinapa and birria tacos at the Rochester eatery. Cinco’s also has restaurants in Dover and Epping. (USA Today Network)

By USA Today via Reuters Connect

🌮 Cinco’s Cantina — Dover, Rochester, and Epping
Family-owned Mexican restaurant serving authentic tacos, including birria, al pastor, seafood, and street tacos.

🌮 Loco Coco’s Tacos — Kittery, ME
Family-owned taco spot offering traditional Mexican tacos alongside creative options like Baja shrimp, banh mi pork, and birria.

🌮 Santiago’s Baja Grill — Hampton
Scratch-made Baja California-inspired cuisine specializing in seafood tacos, including snapper, swordfish, and shrimp.

🌮 Burrito Loco Mexican Grill — Hampton and Epping
Build-your-own street tacos with a wide selection of meats, tortillas, and toppings, plus quesabirria tacos.

🌮 Vida Cantina — Portsmouth
Creative tacos featuring ingredients like fried avocado, pork belly, chorizo, and sweet potatoes, along with rotating specials.

🌮 Barrio — Portsmouth
Build-your-own tacos and inventive specialty combinations featuring everything from marinated steak to blackened cod.

Reply to this email and tell us your favorite spot to grab a taco!

Election season means political ads, mailers, texts, yard signs, and social media posts everywhere. But when it’s actually time to decide who gets your vote, we want to know:

Where do you actually get information about candidates before voting?

Think you’ve got what it takes to crack this crossword? Tell us how long it takes you to finish it by emailing us at katysavage@granitepostnews.com! This week’s topic? Famous Granite Staters.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Katy Savage with stories from Colin Booth and USA Today via Reuters Connect. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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