2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

The 2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the governor of New Hampshire, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The primaries were held on September 13.
Incumbent Democratic governor Maggie Hassan 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. In the general election, Republican nominee Chris Sununu defeated Democrat Colin Van Ostern and Libertarian state representative Max Abramson 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 Maggie Hassan, 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 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, former mayor of Portsmouth
Colin Van Ostern, Executive Councilor

Declined

Jackie Cilley, state representative, former state senator and candidate for governor in 2012
Dan Feltes, state senator
Maggie Hassan, incumbent governor
Andrew Hosmer, state senator
Ann McLane Kuster, U.S. representative [United States House of Representatives 2016 United States Senate elections|elections in New Hampshire, 2016|(running for re-election)]
Shawn O'Connor, businessman
Chris Pappas, Executive Councilor
Stefany Shaheen, Portsmouth City Councilor and daughter of U.S. senator Jeanne Shaheen
Carol Shea-Porter, former U.S. representative
Donna Soucy, state senator
Mike Vlacich, campaign manager for Senator Shaheen

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Frank Edelblut, state representative
Jeanie Forrester, state senator
Ted Gatsas, Mayor of Manchester
John Lavoie
Chris Sununu, Executive Councilor, son of former governor John H. Sununu and brother of former U.S. senator John E. Sununu

Declined

Jeb Bradley, Majority Leader of the State Senate and former U.S. representative
Walt Havenstein, businessman and nominee for governor in 2014
Donnalee Lozeau, Mayor of Nashua
Chuck Morse, president of the State Senate
Andy Sanborn, state senator

Libertarian Party

Candidates

Declared

Max Abramson, state representative

Independents

Candidates

Declared

Mike Gill, businessman
Jilletta Jarvis, training project manager

General election

Debates

, October 26, 2016 - C-SPAN

Polling

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Colin Van Ostern	Chris Sununu	Other/Undecided	Margin
Real Clear Politics	October 28 – November 6, 2016	November 6, 2016	43.2%	44.4%	12.4%	Sununu +1.2%

with Maggie Hassan

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Maggie Hassan	Jeb Bradley	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	August 21–24, 2015	841	± 3.4%	48%	39%	—	13%
Public Policy Polling	April 9–13, 2015	747	± 3.6%	53%	36%	—	11%

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Maggie Hassan	Donnalee Lozeau	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	April 9–13, 2015	747	± 3.6%	55%	25%	—	20%

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Maggie Hassan	Chris Sununu	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	August 21–24, 2015	841	± 3.4%	48%	41%	—	11%
Public Policy Polling	April 9–13, 2015	747	± 3.6%	52%	35%	—	13%

with Stefany Shaheen

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Stefany Shaheen	Jeb Bradley	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 16–18, 2015	880	± 3.3%	37%	39%	—	23%

with Chris Pappas

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Pappas	Jeb Bradley	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	August 21–24, 2015	841	± 3.4%	33%	38%	—	29%

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Pappas	Chris Sununu	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	August 21–24, 2015	841	± 3.4%	34%	38%	—	28%

with Terie Norelli

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Terie Norelli	Jeb Bradley	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	August 21–24, 2015	841	± 3.4%	33%	39%	—	29%

with Mark Connolly

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mark Connolly	Frank Edelblut	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	January 4–6, 2016	1,036	± 3%	31%	24%	—	45%
Public Policy Polling	November 30–December 2, 2015	990	± 3.1%	33%	24%	—	43%

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mark Connolly	Chris Sununu	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	January 4–6, 2016	1,036	± 3%	36%	38%	—	25%
Public Policy Polling	November 30–December 2, 2015	990	± 3.1%	36%	40%	—	24%

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Stefany Shaheen	Chris Sununu	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 16–18, 2015	880	± 3.3%	40%	41%	—	19%

with Jackie Cilley

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jackie Cilley	Jeb Bradley	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	April 9–13, 2015	747	± 3.6%	31%	37%	—	31%

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jackie Cilley	Chris Sununu	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	April 9–13, 2015	747	± 3.6%	36%	37%	—	27%

Poll source	Date administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Colin Van Ostern	Jeb Bradley	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 16–18, 2015	880	± 3.3%	31%	40%	—	29%
Public Policy Polling	August 21–24, 2015	841	± 3.4%	31%	38%	—	31%
Public Policy Polling	April 9–13, 2015	747	± 3.6%	31%	37%	—	32%

Results

By county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Sununu won one of the two congressional districts, which elected a Democrat.

District	Sununu	Van Ostern	Representative
	50%	45%	Carol Shea-Porter
	47%	48%	Annie Kuster