From worst to — well, not quite first. But at least New Hampshire’s state primary would no longer be last.
After years of complaints from good government organizations and frustrated candidates, there was bipartisan support in the New Hampshire House Election Law Committee for moving the date of the primary election. Currently, New Hampshire’s primary is set for the second Tuesday in September, the latest primary date of any state.
On Tuesday, committee members considered two options for new primary dates. One would move the primary to the second Tuesday in June, a time of year when most states are holding their primary elections. The other would move up the date just a few weeks, to the fourth Tuesday in August. That would still give the Granite State one of the latest primary dates in the country.
None of the proposals would impact the state’s First in the Nation presidential primary every four years.
The August primary date has the support of Secretary of State David Scanlan, who testified in support of HB 408 before the House Election Law Committee on Tuesday.
“I prefer August, but that’s not to say the reasons for a June primary are not valid,” Scanlan said. “There’s more of a political component than a logistical one, which I’m going to focus on.”
The “political component” of a June primary date, according to HB 481’s backers, is that it would give candidates who are challenging incumbent officeholders more time after the primary to consolidate their support and raise money for the general election in November.
For example, the Republican nominee in the First Congressional District last year, Russell Prescott, had just 56 days after winning his party’s primary to mount an entire general election campaign against three-term incumbent Democrat Rep. Chris Pappas.
In the past, Democrats have generally opposed changing the primary date, claiming it would lead to a “nonstop election season.” Republicans say the real reason for Democratic opposition is because Republicans tend to have more primaries, particularly for federal offices.
This year, the primary sponsor behind the June proposal happens to be a Democrat.
“The existing primary is an incumbent protection plan, I couldn’t agree more,” state Rep. Kris Schultz (D-Concord) said during her testimony.
Schultz was referencing a quote delivered last year on the House floor by HB 481 co-sponsor and state Rep. Ross Berry (R-Weare).
“Here’s the part that affects the average Granite Stater and why we should move it — to only hear from your general election candidates and their general election message for 56 days, it really does give an added bonus, as the chair (Berry) said on the House floor last year, to the incumbent in a way that doesn’t favor democracy,” Schultz said.
Per New Hampshire law, the primary falls on the second Tuesday in September. In 2026 that date will be Sept. 8 — the day after Labor Day — and just eight weeks before the Nov. 3 general election.
“I love our federal delegation, but they’re not always going to be our federal delegation,” Schultz said, acknowledging one reason for Democratic Party opposition. “I’d love to have a Democratic governor at some point as a state rep.
“But for Granite Staters, they need more than 56 days to have that conversation,” she added.
Berry has long been a supporter of moving up the primary, and he told Democrats that their contentious gubernatorial primary between former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Berry then-Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington was the political chickens coming home to roost.
“I warned this body earlier — one of these days, boom, you’re going to lose the Corner Office,” he said. “And boom, that’s exactly what happened, the Democrats got caught up in a bitter primary, and now-Gov. Kelly Ayotte was able to run away with her primary. She was able to pivot off and go straight to the general election while the Democrats were chasing each other to the left, and you saw how that worked out.
“The same thing could have happened to Republicans. It was just going to happen, and it happened to the other side first.”
Schultz also pushed back on concerns from fellow Democrats that a June primary date would conflict with legislative business.
“Are you not going to talk to your constituency during a session?” she asked. “I hope you don’t wait until June to start talking to your constituents. We will adapt as state reps. We’re scrappy, we can do it, but we need to not think of ourselves in that way. We need to think about the top of the ticket.”
Another concern created by the current primary date is the possibility that an election-day problem or post-election controversy could cut into the already limited time between the primary and the general elections. Supporters of the June primary say it gives election officials more time to deal with challenges.
Scanlan said it’s not a problem, that the August date will give his office enough time to settle any potential recounts and issue absentee ballots.
“There’s no question we need to move the primary further back,” Scanlan said. “I will tell you I was holding my breath in the last primary because there were a number of hotly contested races for Congress and governor that could have been close enough for a recount.
“Had that happened, we would have gotten the job done, but it would have been a monumental task.”
The August primary bill, HB 408, was introduced by state Rep. Tim Horrigan (D-Durham). During his testimony, Horrigan addressed Berry’s claim that the late primary likely hurt Democrats leading up to last year’s gubernatorial election.
“I’m not sure whether going further to the left was inherently a bad thing,” he said, referring to efforts by Warmington and Craig to cater more to Democratic primary voters. “We did have two challengers.”
Horrigan did acknowledge that the late primary date “is much better for legislative candidates like us.”
Berry dismissed the idea that House members can’t do what legislators across the U.S. do every two years — take care of legislative business while running for reelection.
“We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said. “It shouldn’t be an issue for an incumbent.”
Horrigan addressed that comment as well.
“Sure, we can walk and chew gum at the same time, but it’s probably better to do one or the other if we have the choice,” he said.
In the end, Berry said, any earlier date would be an improvement.
“I have voted for June. I have voted for August. I don’t care. I just want to move it.”
