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.

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 (running for U.S. Senate)
 * Andrew Hosmer, state senator
 * Ann McLane Kuster, U.S. Representative (running for re-election)
 * Shawn O'Connor, businessman (running for NH-01)
 * Chris Pappas, Executive Councilor
 * Stefany Shaheen, Portsmouth City Councilor and daughter of U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen
 * Carol Shea-Porter, former U.S. Representative (running for NH-01)
 * Donna Soucy, state senator
 * Mike Vlacich, campaign manager for Senator Shaheen

Results
[[File:2016 NH GOV Dem primary.svg|thumb|225px|Results by county: Van Ostern

{{legend|#3771c8|Van Ostern—60–70%}}

{{legend|#5f8dd3|Van Ostern—50–60%}}

{{legend|#87aade|Van Ostern—40–50%}}

{{legend|#afc6e9|Van Ostern—30–40%}} ]]

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

Results
[[File:2016 NH GOV GOP primary.svg|thumb|225px|Results by county: Sununu

{{legend|#e9afaf|Sununu—30–40%}}

{{legend|#f4d7d7|Sununu—<30%}} Edelblut

{{legend|#afe9af|Edelblut—30–40%}}

{{legend|#87de87|Edelblut—40–50%}} Forrester

{{legend|#e9ddaf|Forrester—30–40%}}

{{legend|#decd87|Forrester—40–50%}} ]]

Declared

 * Max Abramson, state representative

Declared

 * Mike Gill, businessman
 * Jilletta Jarvis, training project manager

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, October 26, 2016 - C-SPAN

Polling

 * Aggregate polls


 * with Maggie Hassan


 * with Stefany Shaheen


 * with Chris Pappas


 * with Terie Norelli
 * with Mark Connolly


 * with Jackie Cilley

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Carroll (largest city: Conway)
 * Coös (largest city: Berlin)
 * Sullivan (largest city: Claremont)

Results by congressional district
Sununu won 1 of the 2 congressional districts, which elected a Democrat.