Post-primary reckoning for New Hampshire Democrats

LEBANON, N.H. (WCAX) – A day after the winners of New Hampshire’s primary elections were announced, Democrats are now tasked with coming back together after a divisive primary.

“I’m excited about what we are going to do over the next eight weeks,” said Democrat Karen Liot Hill, who coasted to her primary win for Executive Council.

But it was the race for governor between Cinde Warmington and Joyce Craig, and New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District between Maggie Goodlander and Colin Van Ostern that raised some eyebrows.

“We are going to be able to put the negativity behind us because we know that Democrats are united in trying to build a better future,” Liot Hill said.

Warmington and Craig both traded blows in TV ads over their connections to the pharmaceutical industry and the opioid crisis. Craig ended up securing the nomination. She will now face Republican Kelly Ayotte in November.

Outgoing Democratic Congresswoman Annie Kuster fired shots at Goodlander over the airwaves in that race, claiming Goodlander did not have strong roots in the Granite State.

Goodlander ended up easily winning the party’s nomination and will now face Republican Lily Tang Williams.

“This is why the late primary is a problem to overcome the bruises,” said Linda Fowler, a politics professor at Dartmouth College.

Fowler says going negative is often how the game is played.

Kuster has already started to make amends releasing a statement that reads, in part: “When I first ran for Congress, I emerged from a spirited primary and it made me a stronger candidate and helped prepare me to win and hold this seat. I know the same will be true for Maggie.”

“It’s a crack but one that I think, particularly given the enthusiasm in the state among Democrats for Kamala Harris, I just don’t think they are going to get mired down in, you know, well my guy didn’t win,” Fowler said.

“There is some great momentum that is going to move us into November up and down the ballot,” Liot Hill said.

Democrats will be holding a unity breakfast in Concord, New Hampshire, on Thursday morning. The first step at coming back together now that the general election is less than two months away.

Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.