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Northern N.H. Voters Set To Pick New District 1 Executive Councilor

Voters in northern New Hampshire will head to the polls tomorrow to pick a new Executive Councilor.

A special election is slated to fill the District 1 seat left vacant after the passing of longtime Executive Councilor Ray Burton in November.

Appearing on The Political Front this morning, NHPR’s Senior Political Reporter Josh Rogers says turnout is expected to be low and there’s no clear frontrunner.

“Both candidates – Democrat Mike Cryans and Republican Joe Kenney – have won elections before. Cryans is a longtime Grafton County Commissioner, Kenney’s a former state Senator who was, in 2008, the Republican party’s gubernatorial nominee. Neither of these guys is hugely well known across the entire district.”

Cryans has outpaced Kenney in fundraising, but Rogers says the election coming on the same day as Town Meeting may benefit Kenney, as turnout is typically higher among older, more conservative voters.

The largest of the five Executive Council districts, District 1 covers an area from just north of Concord to the Canadian border.

It includes Coos and Grafton counties, the cities of Claremont and Laconia, and the Lakes Region and the White Mountains.

Ray Burton held the seat for nearly four decades.

Michael serves as NHPR's Program Director. Michael came to NHPR in 2012, working as the station's newscast producer/reporter. In 2015, he took on the role of Morning Edition producer. Michael worked for eight years at The Telegraph of Nashua, covering education and working as the metro editor.
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