Primary season is approaching in New Hampshire, but voters in the Upper Valley won’t have many choices to make. Few races have drawn enough candidates to set up intraparty clashes on the Sept. 13 primary ballot.
Candidates for office had from June 1 to 10 to declare their candidacy for office and be on the ballot. The general election will be held Nov. 8.
In many of the Upper Valley seats in the House of Representatives, there will be no choice.
In Grafton County District 12, however, there will be six Hanover Democrats, including four incumbents, all competing for the four available seats. Mary A. Hakken-Phillips, Russell Muirhead, James M. Murphy and Sharon Nordgren are seeking reelection. Miles Brown and Nicolas Macri are hoping to break through and claim one of the seats.
No Republicans declared for the four seats in one of the bluest areas of the state. Nor did they field a candidate in any of the five seats in Districts 13-17, which include Lebanon and Enfield.
Declared candidates for those offices include Laurel Stavis, of Lebanon, in District 13; George Sykes, of Lebanon, in District 14; Thomas Cormen, of Lebanon, in District 15; Joshua Adjutant, of Enfield, in District 16; and Susan W. Almy, of Lebanon, in District 17.
There will be a primary on the Republican side for three seats in Sullivan District 3, which includes the towns of Charlestown, Newport and Unity.
Republican voters will choose three from among four candidates including Tobin Menard, of Newport; Skip Rollins, of Newport; Steven Smith, of Charlestown; and Walter Spilsbury, of Charlestown. The top three candidates will advance to the general election. The three Democrats who announced include Virginia O’Brien Irwin, of Newport; John W. Streeter, of Charlestown; and Linda Kristina Wadensten, of Newport.
In District 18, which includes the Upper Valley towns of Canaan, Dorchester, Enfield and Grafton, the GOP has two contenders in the primary. John Sellers, R-Bristol, and Andrew Ware, R-Grafton, will compete for the right to face Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, D-Bridgewater.
In the state Senate, just one district including Upper Valley towns will see a primary race.
In Senate District 7, which includes the Upper Valley towns of Grafton and Orange, two Bradford Republicans will face off for the nomination. Thomas A. Dunne and Daniel E. Innis, will compete for the right to challenge Richard A. Lobban, Jr., D-Bridgewater, for the seat.
Candidates for three other Senate seats representing Upper Valley towns will not face a primary.
In Senate District 1, which includes the Upper Valley towns of Haverhill and Piermont, the resignation of Sen. Erin Hennessey, a Littleton Republican, leaves the seat open for either Democrat Edith Tucker, of Randolph, or Republican Carrie Gendreau, of Littleton.
In District 5, incumbent Sue Prentiss, D-West Lebanon, will be challenged by John McIntyre, R-Hanover, in the general election.
And, in District 8, incumbent Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard, has a challenge from former Claremont Mayor Charlene Marcotte Lovett, D-Claremont.
One Upper Valley candidate has thrown his hat in the ring for the District 2 seat on the Executive Council. The race features three Democrats and two Republicans vying for the office.
Michael J. Cryans, D-Hanover; Bradford P. Todd, D-Keene; and incumbent Cinde Warmington, D-Concord, will run in the Democratic primary to earn the right to compete in the general election, while Harold F. French, R-Canterbury, and Kim Strathdee, R-Lincoln, will try to carry the GOP ticket.
Recent redistricting made it harder for an Upper Valley contender to win the seat as much larger voting populations in Concord and elsewhere give candidates from those areas the advantage.
At the county level, there is one race for a Grafton County Commissioner seat.
District 2 will feature a primary contest between Republicans Glenn Libby and Matthew D. Bjelobrk, both of Haverhill. The winner will have Democrat Martha Stroup McLeod, of Franconia, waiting in the general.
Meanwhile, Wendy A. Piper, D-Enfield, is running unopposed for reelection to District 1 in Grafton County.
In District 3, the incumbent Omer C. Ahern, Jr, R-Wentworth, has no primary opposition but will face Marcia Morris, D-Alexandria, in November.
In Sullivan County, two of three seats are up for election with the third elected on a different cycle.
Commission Chairman George Hebert, R-Goshen, and Vice-Chairman Bennie Nelson, R-Newport, are both running unopposed for reelection.
Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 802-291-4992.
Executive Council District 2 Michael J. Cryans, D-Hanover
Bradford P. Todd, D-Keene
Cinde Warmington, D-Concord
Harold F. French, R-Canterbury
Kim Strathdee, R-Lincoln
New Hampshire Senate District 1 Edith Tucker, D-Randolph.
Carrie L. Gendreau, R-Littleton
District 5 Sue Prentiss, D-West Lebanon
John McIntyre, R-Hanover
District 7 Richard A. Lobban, Jr., D-Bridgewater
Thomas A. Dunne, R-Bradford
Daniel E. Innis, R-Bradford
District 8 Charlene Marcotte Lovett, D-Claremont
Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard
State RepresentativeGrafton County District 5 — 2 Seats Matthew Coulon, R-Haverhill
Rick Ladd, R-Haverhill
District 6 — 1 Seat
Craig Tomlinson, D-Orford
Jeffrey Greeson, R-Wentworth
District 9 — 1 Seat Corinne Morse, D-Canaan
Donald McFarlane, R-Orange
District 11 — 1 Seat Catherine Mulholland, D-Grafton
Lex Berezhny, R-Grafton
District 12 — 4 Seat Miles Brown, D-Hanover
Mary A. Hakken-Phillips, D-Hanover
Nicolas Macri, D-Hanover
Russell Muirhead, D-Hanover
James M. Murphy, D-Hanover
Sharon Nordgren, D-Hanover
District 13 — 1 Seat Laurel Stavis, D-Lebanon
District 14 — 1 Seat George Sykes, D-Lebanon
District 15 — 1 Seat Thomas Cormen, D-Lebanon
District 16 — 1 Seat Joshua Adjutant, D-Enfield
District 17 — 1 Seat Susan W. Almy, D-Lebanon
District 18 — 1 Seat Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, D-Bridgewater
John Sellers, R-Bristol
Andrew Ware, R-Grafton
State RepresentativeSullivan County District 1 — 1 Seat Brian Sullivan, D-Grantham
Tanya McIntire, R-Grantham
District 2 — 1 Seat William Palmer, D-Cornish
Virginia Drye, R-Plainfield
District 3 — 3 Seats Virginia O’Brien Irwin, D-Newport
John W. Streeter, D-Charlestown
Linda Kristina Wadensten, D-Newport
Tobin Menard, R-Newport
Skip Rollins, R-Newport
Steven Smith, R-Charlestown
Walter Spilsbury, R-Charlestown
District 4 — 1 Seat Bruce L. Cragin, D-Lempster
Judy Aron, R-Acworth
District 5 — 1 Seat Linda Tanner, D-Sunapee
George C. Grant, R-Sunapee
District 6 — 3 Seats John R. Cloutier, D-Claremont
Gary Merchant, D-Claremont
Andrew S. O’Hearne, D-Claremont
Jeremy Herrell, R-Claremont
Sean F. McCarthy, R-Claremont
Walter A. Stapleton, R-Claremont
District 7 — 1 Seat Jason Bourne, D-Cornish
Larry Flint, D-Newport
Margaret M. Drye, R-Plainfield
District 8 — 2 Seats Hope Damon, D-Croydon
Robert Lovett, Jr., D-Claremont
Don Bettencourt, R-Sunapee
Jonathan F. Stone, R-Claremont
Grafton County Sheriff Jeffrey F. Stiegler, D-Haverhill
County Attorney Martha Ann Hornick, D-Littleton
County Treasurer Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon
Register of Deeds Kelley Jean Monahan, D-Orford
John H. Randlett, R-Plymouth
Register of Probate Paul Ingbretson, R-Haverhill
County Commissioner District 1 Wendy A. Piper, D-Enfield
County Commissioner District 2 Martha Stroup McLeod, D-Franconia
Glenn Libby, R-Haverhill
Matthew D. Bjelobrk, R-Haverhill
County Commissioner District 3 Omer C. Ahern, Jr, R-Wentworth
Marcia Morris, D-Alexandria
Sullivan County Sheriff John P. Simonds, R-Claremont
County Attorney Jay Buckey, D-Grantham
Marc Hathaway, R-Newport
County Treasurer Michael Sanderson, R-Newport
Register of Deeds Janet Gibson, R-Newport
Register of Probate Kathleen Eames, D-Charlestown
Rodd Ward, R-Newport
County Commissioner District 2 Bennie Nelson, R-Newport
County Commissioner District 3 George Hebert, R-Goshen