CONCORD — The 2024 races to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. House are on with the close of the election filing period Friday.
New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District features a number of challengers to incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas. He will face a Republican-turned-Democrat in the primary in September, and several Republicans are competing for the right to advance to the November election, too.
With incumbent Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster retiring, New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District will see its first open race since 2012. Colin Van Ostern and Maggie Goodlander headline the Democratic race, while multiple Republicans are seeking the nomination, too.
Representatives to Congress are elected every two years. The state primary in New Hampshire is Sept. 10, and the general election will be Nov. 5, along with the presidential election.
Who is challenging Chris Pappas in NH 01?
Pappas is running for reelection to his fourth term in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, which includes southeastern New Hampshire and the cities of Portsmouth, Dover, Rochester, Manchester and Laconia.
NH-01 is rated likely Democrat by the Cook Political Report, but it is also given an even Partisan Voting Index, meaning it does not perform more Democratic or Republican on average than the nation overall.
“I’m excited about the campaign,” Pappas said at an event in Portsmouth after filing for office Monday. “We take on every election seriously. It's a very competitive district. And so, I'm gonna be out there working hard the next five months.”
Pappas told Seacoastonline abortion rights is a central part of his campaign.
“It's central in terms of people's concerns as they think about what's happening in our country right now,” he said. “I'm the only candidate in the race that's going to vote on a pro-choice basis to reestablish Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.”
In the Democratic race, Pappas faces Kevin Rondeau, who was defeated in the Republican primary in 2022. He is now running as a “conservative Democrat” who said he is “pro Second Amendment,” "pro border security,” and “pro Israel” in a Facebook post after filing for the race.
The Republican primary candidates are: Russell Prescott, Hollie Noveletsky, Max Abramson, Chris Bright, Andy Martin, Joseph Kelly Lavasseur, and Walter J. McFarlane III.
Both Noveletsky and Prescott announced their candidacies in the fall of 2023.
Prescott was a state senator from 2000-2004 and 2010-2016, as well as an executive councilor from 2016-2020. Since 2020, he has been the sole owner and president of R.E. Prescott Company.
“Every single vote that I took in the state Senate and the Executive Council was in concurrence with Roe v. Wade,” Prescott said of his stance on reproductive rights. “In terms of my work in Congress would be leave that to the states, and New Hampshire I know is secure in concurring with Roe v. Wade.”
Noveletsky, of Newfields, is the CEO of Novel Iron Works. Her number one priority is immigration.
"Career politicians have made this mess, and career politicians are not going to get us out of it – and it's all about the next generation," she told WMUR after filing Monday.
Max Abramson of Seabrook filed on Friday. A former representative, he was found guilty of a felony in 2012 for shooting a firearm recklessly during a party at his home. Abramson is now campaigning on congressional term limits, advocating for a limit of three terms in the House and two in the Senate.
Veteran and political newcomer Bright, from Derry, filed for candidacy on June 11.
“We need a fresh face with the energy and ideas to beat Pappas and bring much-needed change to Washington,” he wrote in a post on X. “THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT!”
Martin, a Manchester resident, is a perennial candidate, previously running for U.S. Senate in 2022, 2020 and 2014, for the 1st Congressional District in 2018, and for the 2nd Congressional District in 2016. He has never been elected. On Friday, Joseph Kelly Levasseur, a Manchester alderman, and Walter J. McFarlane III also filed in the District 1 race.
Who will succeed Annie Kuster in NH 02?
Kuster’s former district, which includes the western half of the state from Nashua to the Canadian border, will see heated contests on both the Democratic and Republican sides.
Kuster has endorsed Colin Van Ostern, a former New Hampshire Executive Council member and Democratic gubernatorial nominee.
“I know how to get real results for the people of our state on the issues that matter most,” Van Ostern said in a statement. “I’ve worked to expand Medicaid to bring better, cheaper health coverage to nearly 100,000 neighbors, to get Planned Parenthood funding restored, twice, to create hundreds of good jobs in the private sector and to help thousands of students get a college degree, most completely debt-free.”
In the September primary, he will face Maggie Goodlander, a former senior White House aide in President Joe Biden’s administration and the wife of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
“Thirty-six years ago, my mom ran for Congress in this very seat. Her opponent’s slogan was ‘A woman’s place is in the home, not in the House,’” Goodlander wrote in a post on X. “Today, with my mom and supporters by our side, I signed up to run for Congress because a woman’s place absolutely is in the US House!”
Though the seat Kuster is vacating is rated likely Democrat by the Cook Political Report, some Republicans see the district as one that could potentially flip. The National Republican Congressional Committee added NH-02 to their list of targeted U.S. House seats, stating in a press release they are “confident" they can pick up the district.
The Republican field is crowded, with thirteen candidates vying for the nomination.
Lily Tang Williams ran for this seat in 2022, where she finished third in the GOP primary.
“I am living proof of the American Dream: I came to this country with $100 in my pocket, and now I am on the primary ballot to serve in the United States House of Representatives,” said Williams in a statement after filing on June 5, the first day of the filing period. “I am running for Congress to keep the American Dream alive and protect the freedoms that make this nation great.”
Vikram Mansharamani is a businessman and public speaker from Lincoln. He ran for Senate in 2022, finishing fourth in the primary. One of his top issues is the economy.
Bill Hamlen, a Hanover resident who has worked in commodity trading and real estate, describes himself as a “commonsense conservative” with top priorities including fighting inflation, crime and securing the border.
Also on the ballot are Jason Riddle, who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and chugged wine once inside the building; Tom Alciere, a former state representative who many years ago advocated for killing police officers; artist Robert D’Arcy, who has ran for but never won election to the state House of Representatives; and Paul Wagner, a 38-year-old from Danbury. Gerard Beloin and Jay Mercer, who have both run for various federal positions but never won, also filed, as did Michael Anthony Callis, Randall Clark, Casey Crane and William Harvey on Friday.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH 2024 primary election races for US House are set
