EMILY’s List women flip NH Senate, help Democrats win House majority

New Hampshire Democrats Shatter the Republican Trifecta, Seizing Both Legislative Chambers

For two years, Republicans in New Hampshire held every lever of state power — the governor’s office, the 400-seat House, and the 24-seat Senate. On election night, that trifecta cracked, and then it broke. Democrats flipped both chambers of the state General Court, winning a supermajority in the House and a substantial majority in the Senate, the Boston Globe reported. EMILY’s List said its endorsed women won 19 competitive legislative races across the Granite State, enough to hand Democrats control of both chambers of the General Court.

The shift matters because it ends a stretch in which one party could pass legislation without a real check. With both chambers now in Democratic hands, the party says it can advance an agenda aimed at working families — while Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte, who won reelection over Democrat Cinde Warmington by a narrower margin than most polls had anticipated, must govern alongside a legislature controlled by the opposition.

This Is Now: Democrats win majority in house & senate (November 4, 2026

A Night That Went Long Past Midnight

Well past midnight—more than four hours after Democratic Congressman Chris Pappas delivered his victory speech in the concurrent federal contest—the Associated Press called the governor’s race, the Boston Globe reported. By then, the shape of the state-level results was already clear: a preliminary count from the New Hampshire House Clerk showed Democrats winning 291 of the chamber’s 400 seats. In the Senate, Democrats captured the seats needed for a majority, including victories for EMILY’s List-backed candidates Rebecca Harned in Senate District 7, Shannon Chandley in District 11, Carryl Roy in District 12, and Dian McCarthy in District 16.

EMILY’s List President Jessica Mackler framed the outcome as a correction, not just a win.

EMILY’s List women flip NH Senate, help Democrats win House majority — Photo: bostonglobe.com

“For too long, New Hampshire Republicans have operated without a real check on their power. Today, EMILY’s List women changed the game. With women flipping critical legislative seats across New Hampshire, Democrats can put forward a positive agenda for the state’s working families.” — Jessica Mackler, EMILY’s List, as reported by EMILY’s List

The House pickups ran deep into the suburban and county districts where the chamber is won: EMILY’s List candidates Ella Barrett, Samantha O’Loughlin, Heather Robitaille, Jane Beaulieu, Chrissy Simonds, Judi Lanza, Ellen Boudreau, Teri Harkins, Claire Holston, Lorrie Carey, Mariana Beer, Donna Danis, Rebecca LaPierre, Molly McCoy, and Ginna Schonwald all secured victories, according to the organization’s release.

Democrats Also Sweep the Executive Council 5-0

The legislative flip was only part of the night. An incomplete vote tally indicated Democrats swept all five races for the Executive Council, unseating four Republican incumbents — a result the Boston Globe called historic. Karen Liot Hill, the council’s lone Democrat, won reelection and will now join four new Democratic colleagues in January.

DEMOCRATS FLIP THE NEW HAMPSHIRE HOUSE! EMILYs List women won key races that flipped control of the chamber. pic.twitter.com/Vy3ycSSMKp

— https://x.com/emilyslist/status/2117824396920250788

That council controls a quiet but consequential power: confirming the governor’s nominees. The stakes rose because the New Hampshire Supreme Court is scandal-plagued — Chief Justice Gordon J. MacDonald resigned in September over an ethical lapse involving a nearly $50,000 payout to a senior staffer, with questions lingering around three other justices, and Ayotte has yet to nominate MacDonald’s successor.

“There is definitely a sense of energy and momentum. But I think there is also a recognition that people are desperate for change. People are clearly sending a very strong message. And now it’s going to be up to us to deliver.” — Karen Liot Hill, incoming Executive Councilor, to the Boston Globe

Liot Hill said the new council will insist on “some very clear standards” for judicial appointments, calling protecting the Supreme Court’s integrity one of her highest priorities.

Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire's Senate election, CBS News projects

What the New Majority Says It Will Tackle

Democratic State Representative David Luneau of Hopkinton, a member of the House Education Funding Committee, pointed to education money as a top priority. Republicans have asked the state Supreme Court to overturn landmark decisions finding that New Hampshire has unconstitutionally underfunded its K-12 public schools — a status quo, Luneau said, that has fueled disparities across the state while burdening property taxpayers.

“The voters have spoken,” Democratic State Representative David Luneau of Hopkinton said as he sipped a vodka on the rocks. “I think they’ve given Democrats all across the state a mandate.” Fixing school funding, he added, means also confronting aging school buildings, rising special education demand, and making sure schoolchildren are fed. “This is going to be a really, really important year coming up,” he said, “where we’re going to need to get New Hampshire going back on the right track.”

Democrat Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire Senate election

GOP Plans 2028 Election Strategy

Not everyone reads the night as a mandate for Democrats. Republican State Representative Jason Osborne, was reelected and pushed back on the idea that one election settles the argument.

Jason Osborne, a Republican state representative from Auburn who has served as majority leader in the New Hampshire House since 2020, stated that he and fellow GOP leaders will get to work right away to regain their majority in 2028, with a focus on fiscal restraint. “Two years is not a long time,” he said, “and Granite Staters have short patience for politicians who raise their taxes.” Osborne, who was reelected Tuesday, reiterated that he and fellow GOP leaders plan to start immediately on efforts to win back the majority in 2028, prioritizing fiscal restraint.

Democrat Pappas will win New Hampshire Senate race, holding the seat for party, ABC News projects

That sets up the next two years as a test: Democrats with the legislative power to set budgets and advance their agenda, and a Republican governor still holding the veto pen — Ayotte’s second term will look quite different from her first, with far fewer elected Republicans serving alongside her.

What Is Still Unresolved

Several things remain open. The Executive Council vote tally was incomplete when reported, and the new councilors do not take their seats until January, meaning Ayotte’s judicial nominations and state contracts still sit in Republican hands for now. And while Democrats now hold both chambers, the governor’s office stays Republican — so the question of whether the new Democratic majority can actually deliver on education funding and judicial oversight, or whether the result produces gridlock in Concord, is the one nobody in either party has answered yet.