Belknap voters overwhelmingly send Republicans to state Legislature

It was nearly a Republican sweep in Belknap County in Tuesday’s General Election. Of the 18 seats representing the county in the Statehouse, only one was won by a Democrat.

Many of those elected are familiar names to county voters, but there will be some newcomers when the county delegation is re-formed in January.

District 1

In Belknap County’s First District, representing Center Harbor and New Hampton, Republican Tom Ploszaj was returned to the Statehouse, earning a total of 1,342 votes to the 1,000 for Democratic challenger David Rose.

This will be Ploszaj’s third term in the state Legislature.

“I would just like to thank the citizens for coming out and voting, and thanks to all the candidates,” Ploszaj said. He noted his campaign slogan has always been, “Let the people have a say, vote Ploszaj,” and he wants to walk that talk. He urged all constituents, regardless of party affiliation, to contact him — see tomploszaj.com for contact information — to let him know their thoughts on upcoming legislation.

“I am trying to represent my district first, then the county, then the state, and I need their input,” Ploszaj said. In fact, he said voters across the state should make a habit of reaching out to their local legislator. “The citizens need to contact their representatives and be heard.”

District 2

District 2 has a pair of seats for Meredith. Matt Coker, who was first elected as a Democrat then switched to the Republican caucus last year, was reelected, and he will be joined by Matt Lunney, a first-time legislator.

Lunney said it’s a “great honor” to be elected to the Statehouse.

“I look forward to going to work for Meredith, Belknap County, I’m grateful for all who supported me.” Lunney said he looks forward to working with legislators, Republicans and Democrats as well as independents. “I will do everything I can to protect the beauty of New Hampshire and people’s rights to pursue the American dream.”

Coker was the top choice of voters, earning 2,648 votes. Lunney, with 2,112 votes, narrowly finished ahead of Democrats Lynn Thomas, who had 1,913 votes, and Ben Brookmyer’s 1,579.

District 3

The third district in Belknap County is a single seat representing Sanbornton and Tilton. Juliet Harvey-Bolia, the incumbent Republican, beat Democrat Andy Sanborn by a tally of 2,333 to 1,816.

The election solidified Republican hold of the county, Harvey-Bolia said.

“I would say the Republicans in Belknap County did outstanding, we added back a seat in Laconia and we managed to hold onto seats that were in contest,” said Harvey-Bolia.

“I’m very grateful that the community has sent me back for a third term.”

Though there was some churn in the personnel elected to represent the county, Harvey-Bolia noted several of the representatives elected to new seats have prior legislative service.

“It will be good to have the experience back in our county,” she said.

District 4

Travis Toner, who ran unopposed, was elected to the sole seat representing Belmont for District 4.

District 5

Representing all of Laconia’s wards except for Ward 2, District 5 had four seats up for grabs. Republicans took the top three, led by Mike Bordes with 4,039 votes, Sheri Minor with 3,852 and Steven Bogert with 3,703. Charlie St. Clair, the lone Democrat elected to represent Belknap County, got the last available seat with 3,641 votes.

Jon Hildreth, a Democrat, got 3,224 votes, and Richard Littlefield, a Republican, earned 3,164 votes, which weren't enough for a seat in Concord. They were followed in the vote count by Democrats Wendy Chase and Erika Gray, who had 3,075 and 2,919 votes, respectively.

“I would like to thank the voters for believing in me,” said Bordes, who added he will have to see what the composition of the rest of the Legislature looks like before deciding on legislative priorities in Concord. He knows what he’ll do closer to home, though.

“One of my main focuses will be the Belknap County Delegation. We have a lot of impact on county matters, I think we need to budget correctly and provide the services that are required,” Bordes said.

St. Clair said he was a “little surprised at the results” of county elections, though he now sees a pattern in that the past four presidential elections have seen stronger Republican waves than elections that fall between presidential cycles.

St. Clair is hopeful he will be able to work with other local legislators and officials for the betterment of the state’s residents, regardless of party.

“I have not seen what the makeup of the whole House is going to be. We’ve got a new governor, she says she’s going to work with everybody and I have no reason to doubt her,” St. Clair said of Governor-elect Kelly Ayotte. “There are challenges every year, and we’ll have those same challenges again. The main thing is for people to work together.”

District 6

District 6 has another four seats, and they represent the towns of Gilford and Gilmanton as well as Laconia’s Ward 2.

Republicans swept the district, with incumbent Harry Bean earning 4,997 votes, David Nagel with 4,731 votes and Russell Dumais with 4,673 votes, all reelected. Glen Alrich, who had previously served in the Statehouse, was returned to Concord thanks to the support of 4,262 voters.

District 6 Democratic challengers were unable to break through in this cycle. Kurt Webber had 3,645 votes and Bob McLean 3,642, Lena Nirk earned 3,382 and Jonathan Arsenault 2,805.

District 7

Voters in Alton and Barnstead, who are represented by three seats in District 7, were satisfied with the Republicans who have been filling those seats recently. Peter Varney, with 4,159 votes, Barbara Comtois with 4,031 and Paul Terry, 4,019, were all reelected.

Ruth Larson led the Democratic challengers with her 2,547, followed by Susan Church Stevens with 2,130 and Stephanie Vuolo with 2,124 votes.

District 8

The floterial District 8 has two seats, representing the towns of Belmont, Sanbornton and Tilton, and they were both easily won by Republicans. Lisa Freeman, a newcomer to the district, led the field with 4,605 votes, and incumbent Douglas Trottier was reelected with 4,409 votes.

Democratic candidates Sheryl Anderson and Don House garnered 3,014 and 2,668 votes respectively.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include vote totals for Jon Hildreth, a Democrat who ran in Belknap 5 for state representative.