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Final results: Summary results | Town resultsThe BasicsThe New Hampshire primary is a mainstay in American electoral politics. Every four years, voters gather to help determine the Republican and/or Democratic nominee for President. While the state only has 12 electoral votes in 2012 (normally it’s 24, but the Republican National Committee penalized the state party for moving up the event date), the primary’s position as one of the earliest contests gives the state out-sized influence over the nomination process.Only the Iowa caucuses come before New Hampshire’s primary. Traditionally, New Hampshire’s broad-based primary contest has been seen as a counter-weight to Iowa’s more drawn-out caucus process, which tends to draw a smaller core of party faithful. In the case of the 2012 Republican race, New Hampshire’s electorate is seen to represent the more libertarian-leaning, fiscally conservative wing of the party, while Iowa voters are seen as representing the socially conservative wing of the GOP base.N.H. Primary summary provided by StateImpact - NH reporter, Amanda Loder

Close Races and Voting Trends in Tuesday's Primary Election

A handful of state senate races proved competitive in Tuesday’s primary.

It’s difficult to see a trend in the statewide legislative results says political analyst Dean Spiliotis.

There clearly are some races in which the tea party energy and conservatives seem to be winning out, but there also a number of races that we’re seeing in which more moderate incumbents are staying in through the primary.

One GOP senate race saw Representative Sam Cataldo defeat Dick Green. Cataldo was the more conservative of the two, with Green having described himself as a ‘Lynch republican.’

House Speaker Bill O’Brien will move on the General Election—although his race was not one of the most competitive of the evening. In the state senate Andy Sanborn beat Ken Hawkins. One of the tightest state senate races was Josh Youssef’s victory over Bill Grimm—by 6 percentage points.

Come November, Spiliotis says local politicians may be overshadowed by events in Washington.  

You’re going to see the same kind of ideology and rhetoric that you see at the presidential and gubernatorial level carried down to the state house level.

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