Gov. Kelly Ayotte is officially running for reelection, and former Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington is her Democratic challenger.
But this election season will see plenty of new faces up and down the ballot. A slew of additional candidates will be visiting the State House this week to formally submit their candidacy with Secretary of State David Scanlan. The candidate filing period runs through Friday, June 12 at 5 p.m.
Candidates are running for a host of political offices, including some important roles Granite Staters don’t often hear or see on the evening news. The races include the New Hampshire Executive Council, state House and Senate districts, and county offices such as sheriff, county attorney, and county commissioner.
Several hundred candidates will be vying for a seat in the New Hampshire Legislature this year. A candidate running for one of the 400 seats in the state House of Representatives must be 18 years old, a registered voter, and be domiciled in New Hampshire for at least two years. State senators must be at least 30 years old, a registered voter, and domiciled in the state for at least seven years — and, like state reps, they must live in their district.
For gubernatorial, Executive Council, and congressional offices, here’s more on candidate qualifications for office.
- Here’s a breakdown of the voting districts.
- See who has filed for office so far.
- More information about running for office
Major races taking shape
New Hampshire has an open U.S. Senate seat in 2026 with the retirement of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat. Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican from Rye, filed his candidacy last week. Former Sen. John E. Sununu, also of Rye, is his main opponent for their party’s nomination. He plans to file Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, a four-term Democrat, has filed for the Democratic nomination for Senate, as is Karishma Manzur of Exeter, who filed Friday. With Pappas pursuing the Senate seat, there is a wide open race for the 1st Congressional District. At least seven Democrats and five Republicans are expected to vie for their party’s nomination.
U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a first-term Democrat representing New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, is running for reelection. State Rep. Paige Beauchemin and Dean Pennington are two Democratic challengers. Republican Lily Tang Williams, who faced off against Goodlander in 2024, is again running for the 2nd District. Victor Orlando and Daniel S. Nicholson are also running for the GOP nomination.
State law requires everyone running as a Republican or Democrat for the state primary election to file a declaration of candidacy, a statement of financial interests, and pay an administrative fee or primary petitions. Anyone seeking to be a candidate in the general election must also submit declarations of intent with the Secretary of State. Read more about declaration of candidacy for these third-party candidates.
Candidates filing on the last day of the filing period must do so in person by 5 p.m. Friday.
The state primary is Sept. 8 and the general election is Nov. 3.
Undeclared voters remain the largest voting bloc in New Hampshire. According to the latest party registration numbers posted by the state, undeclared voters number 377,158. There were 314,005 Republicans and 265,183 Democrats on the list, as of May 4.
