Sixteen New Hampshire House Recounts Begin in Concord

Sixteen candidates in New Hampshire House races have triggered official recounts following a week of changing election results.

The process, which began Monday at the State Archives building in Concord, follows an election cycle that saw Democrats move from a minority to a projected 291-108 majority in the House.

According to reporting from the New Hampshire Bulletin, the recount effort could alter the final math of this massive political realignment. Before Election Day, Republicans held a 215-177 majority in the House, but the preliminary results suggest a fundamental change in the state’s governing balance. While the state Senate saw Democrats gain seven seats to secure a 15-9 majority, no candidates in those races requested recounts.

With 424 seats split between the House and Senate, New Hampshire maintains the largest state legislature in the country. State law allows candidates who lose by 20% or less of the total votes to request a recount by the Friday following an election.

Some candidates lost their initial counts by as few as two votes. For example, in a Farmington four-way race, Republican Packy Campbell secured his win with 1,167 votes, just two ahead of Democrat Brian Beaverstock’s 1,165. A similar two-vote margin decided the Moultonborough, Brookfield, and Tamworth race, where Republican Colin Mitchell and Democrat George Randell were reaffirmed as winners after a recount.

NH state house election recounts begin

The following table details several of the most closely contested races currently undergoing or having completed the recount process:

District/Location	Candidate A (Votes)	Candidate B (Votes)	Margin
Farmington	Packy Campbell (1,167)	Brian Beaverstock (1,165)	2
Moultonborough/Tamworth	George Randell (5,070)	Tammy Garthwaite (5,068)	2
Derry	Jodi Nelson (5,358)	Brian Chirichiello (5,370)	12
Franklin Wards 1-3	Vivian Marie Hall (1,355)	Michael Visconti (1,358)	3

In Kingston, a three-way race for two seats saw Republican Ken Weyler and Democrat Paul Paone defeat Republican Pam Brown, who finished just two votes behind Paone. In Derry, a massive 20-way race for 10 seats saw Republican Jodi Nelson fall just two votes short of a seat, finishing with 5,358 votes.

Secretary of State David Scanlan, the state’s chief elections official, indicated that the recount process is expected to last roughly two weeks. The office will operate every weekday, though they will pause on Wednesday for Veterans Day. During the proceedings, staff and volunteers use small cameras to project a video of the ballot counting onto computer monitors to ensure transparency.

Poll watchers from both major political parties are present to observe the counting. If a watcher disputes how a specific ballot is handled, the matter can be escalated to the state’s Ballot Law Commission. Secretary of State Scanlan and Deputy Secretary of State Brendan O’Donnell have been overseeing the high-volume task of verifying these contested results at the State Archives.

The Secretary of State’s Office has outlined the races being recounted.

While Democrats saw major gains, the Republican camp is focused on the narrow margins in a district that includes Littleton, Sugar Hill, and Lyman. In that six-way race for three seats, Democrat Joseph Goderic Beaulieu earned 2,209 votes, trailing the third-place Republican, Andrew Dorsett, who received 2,226.

As the staff continues to flip through ballots in the State Archives, the final composition of the New Hampshire House remains subject to these late-stage corrections.

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