I am very grateful to the voters of Cheshire County and Senate District 10 for electing me as their next State Senator to succeed Sen. Molly Kelly; winning with 64% of the vote is a convincing margin. Your support, letters to the editor, and contributions were most helpful. I began this election with a commitment to make a difference in the lives of people in Cheshire County. I said I would bring my optimism, energy and determination to get things done and that mine would be a positive campaign about the future of our region and state. These commitments and your support helped me gain votes across party lines and across advocacy groups.
While I was hopeful for other outcomes from the general election, we all need to move forward and work to improve the the lives of those we serve. As I look ahead, I have a few below-the-headline observations:
- Our NH Congressional representatives will be all Democrats and all women, and they are all strong advocates for education, healthcare, mental health and workforce development; In contrast, the nation’s president will be a Republican working with a Republican-led congress. Our congressional delegation will face some partisan challenges in the coming 115th session.
- The election of a new Republican Governor, together with roughly the same party make-up in the State Senate, House of Representative and Executive Council, puts Republicans in leadership of State Government.
- The statewide elected officials are all from the southeastern part of the state, with the exception of Cong. Kuster, who is from Concord, which illustrates the geographic, economic and political pull of the state.
My challenge is to navigate these changing dynamics to accomplish the goals I set forward during the election and gain some wins for Cheshire County and the state. I will work across the aisles to get things done, which is exactly what I pledged when announcing my candidacy.
I want to congratulate newly elected state officials: US Senator-elect Maggie Hassan, Congresswomen Kuster, Governor-elect Sununu, Executive Councilor-elect Andru Volinsky and the newly elected and reelected state representatives and county officers. I look forward to working with each of them.
And I want to thank the many people who ran for office, who worked and volunteered for candidates, who met voters, and who worked inside and outside the polling places. Your participation is an important contribution to our electoral process. I greatly appreciate your efforts!