Politics & Government

Recap: Recount Likely Between Sanborn and Nyquist

Bedford Republicans survive blue wave.

Kevin Hodges says he called it five months ago.

"I knew this was going to be a coin-toss race between two well-matched hard campaigners with significant resources and competing messages," said Lee Nyquist's campaign manager.

Nyquist, a New Boston Democrat, took the race for District 9 senate down to the wire, but in the end, it was his opponent, Bedford Republican Andy Sanborn, who earned the photo-finish triumph.

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Though Sanborn garnered a , Nyquist captured the vote in 10 of the remaining 13 District 9 towns. In total, Sanborn finished the race with 15,435 votes to Nyquist's 15,225.

The 210-tally difference between the two candidates represents less than one percent of the total ballots cast.

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Of course, the Nyquist camp confirmed last night that they're likely to call for a recount. They have until 5 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 9, to file requisite paperwork with the Secretary of State's office.

"We are going to seriously consider all our options and, once the dust settles, make a decision within that window," said Hodges. "We knew it would be tight, but we certainly didn't expect it to be this close."

For Sanborn, the fact he and his wife Laurie – who earned another term in the NH House (results below) – were able to survive the massive blue wave that overtook much of New Hampshire, is indicative of the trust voters have placed in them.

"I don't think anyone expected any of the races in New Hampshire to be this close," said Sanborn. "For me, I think this just shows how hard Laurie and I worked and this proves that not only do we truly identify with the voters, but they identify with us.

"I definitely think our message as small business owners resonates with New Hampshire residents and people realize we're not just typical politicians, and the fact we survived this landslide vote seems to back that up," he added. "I truly thank all the voters who came out and supported us and promise to make them proud of us."

Hodges was equally impressed with the turnout for his candidate.

"This is a Republican district to begin with and we began this with a two- to three-point disadvantage, so we were working up hill this entire race," said Hodges. "With or without this wave, this is certainly a big achievement for us. I mean, Lee Nyquist is apparently the most popular Democrat in Bedford, and that's because he had so much support from many of the area's Independents and Republicans."

Other Races

Though Mitt Romney and Ovide Lamontagne both won Bedford's hearts, the local results didn't translate on the state and national level as both candidates fell to their respective opponents. Congressman Frank Guinta, despite winning Bedford, suffered a similar fate, handing New Hampshire's First Congressional seat back to Carol Shea-Porter, who he defeated two years ago.

Executive Council

As of early this morning, WMUR had posted results for 22 of 30 Executive Council District 4 precincts with Manchester Democrat Chris Pappas holding a 46,289 to 41,696 (50% to 46%) advantage over Bedford Republican Bob Burns (who won Bedford 6,604 to 4,924).

NH House of Representatives (District 41)

In another hotly contested race, Bedford Republican Laurie Sanborn defeated Amherst Democrat Len Gerzon 10,948 to 7,139. Sanborn – who took 3,611 votes in Amherst to Gerzon's 2,957 – won Bedford convincingly, 7,336 to 4,182.

NH House of Representatives (District 7)

Republicans John Cebrowski (6,733); David Danielson (6,959); John Graham (6,719); Keith Murphy (6,420); Kelleigh Domaingue Murphy (6,202); and Moe Villeneauve (6,861) defeated Democrats Gerald Boyer (3,514); Jane Boyer (3,870); Jeremy Dupuis (3,703); Jerry Hanauer (3,509); Bob Jones (3,690) and Kreistie Poltronieri (3,789).

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