Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte says “the timing is off” for the GOP-controlled legislature to draw new congressional maps for the Granite State, a goal of House Republicans since the 2020 Census.
After the GOP’s solid performance in November — winning the governor’s race, a 222-House majority, and a supermajority in the state Senate, State House Republicans have been open about their hopes to finally create a Republican-friendly district in New Hampshire.
If they succeeded and a Republican were elected, it would be the party’s first federal election victory since 2014, and only the second since the Tea Party surge of 2010. Also significant, a New Hampshire Republican in the U.S. House would be the only GOP member of the chamber from all of New England.
(The region’s only Republican member of Congress, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, is up for reelection in 2026.)
In an interview that aired Sunday, WMUR’s Adam Sexton asked Ayotte if she was “willing to sign a new map into law?”
“We’re already halfway through the census. I believe if the legislature was going to act on this, they should have already acted on this,” Ayotte answered. “So we’re heading into the next census already. We’re, like, halfway through. I do think the timing is off for this.”
Frustrated Republicans told NHJournal on background that it’s unfair for Ayotte to say they needed to act. Republicans passed new congressional maps in 2022, only to have them vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu — a move that drew cheers from State House Democrats.
Ayotte’s attitude caught some Republicans by surprise, in part because of an interview she gave after receiving Sununu’s endorsement during the gubernatorial primary over the summer. Asked by NHJournal to name something Sununu did that she would not have, Ayotte said, “I probably would have taken a little different view on redistricting.”
Ayotte supporters, on the other hand, say she’s been signaling for weeks that she believes the redistricting moment has passed.
Republicans argue New Hampshire needs to step up in order to balance the partisan gerrymandering in other states like California, Maryland, Illinois, and Massachusetts. In those states, overall Republican vote totals were significantly higher than their representation in Congress. For example, in Illinois, Democrats won about 55 percent of the vote, but won 14 of the 17 congressional seats, or 82 percent of the seats.
In Massachusetts, Vice President Kamala Harris barely won 61 percent of the vote, but Democrats once again won all nine congressional races. In fact, thanks to Democrat-drawn maps, the few Massachusetts Republicans who ran for Congress all lost by double digits.
Democrats push back by pointing to GOP-controlled states with Republican-leaning maps like Florida and North Carolina.
The case for a Republican and Democratic district in a purple state like New Hampshire is much stronger, advocates say. And whatever Ayotte’s views of the process, a legal analysis by prominent New Hampshire GOP attorney Rick Lehmann found lawmakers have the authority to draw up and pass new maps this session if they choose.
“Yes, the New Hampshire legislature retains the authority to engage in congressional redistricting in 2025,” according to the memo. “Federal constitutional law governs congressional redistricting, and the United States Supreme Court has held that it does not prohibit mid-decade redistricting.”
So, why is Ayotte apparently closing the door?
“What’s the upside for Ayotte?” one State House insider asked. “She’s starting her first term, she’s got a budget that’s going to be very tough. And then there’s Trump. She may have decided she has enough on her plate.”
