In a pair of closely watched primaries for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, Anthony DiLorenzo secured a convincing victory in the Republican race, while Democrat Stefany Shaheen edged out a narrow win over rival Maura Sullivan.
The Associated Press called the race for Shaheen at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday, with 37% of the vote for her against 35% for Sullivan, with 88% of total votes counted.
In the Republican contest, the race was called by the Associated Press shortly after polls closed, with DiLorenzo receiving around 51% of the vote, ahead of Hollie Noveltsky at 26% and Brian Cole at 14%.
Congressman Chris Pappas, a Democrat who has held the 1st District seat for four terms, is running for U.S. Senate, giving both parties a chance to pick up what could be a crucial seat in securing a majority in Congress.
Democratic race a nailbiter to the end
Speaking to supporters in Portsmouth Tuesday evening, Shaheen urged them to focus their energy on the general election.
"We have to give a reason to for people to feel motivated and inspired and ready to show up between now and November," she said. "And that's what we will do on this campaign."
The result marks the end to a close — and bitterly fought — Democratic primary.
Shaheen, who previously served as a Portsmouth city counselor and police commissioner, entered the race with a big advantage in name recognition. Her mother, retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, is the most successful Democratic politician in the state’s history. But Shaheen’s last name became a target of sorts for her competitors, who said it was time to move on from familial dynasties in politics.
Sullivan ran for this same seat eight years ago, and faced criticism at the time for having only recently moved to the district. But after securing a leadership position with the state Democratic Party while also working in the private sector, Sullivan found more support in this year’s contest, and was leading polls in the final weeks of the race.
A Marine Corps veteran, Sullivan also tapped into a large network of fundraising support from national veterans groups. But she was also criticized for taking funding from other sources: Shaheen accused Sullivan of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars she alleged was funneled to her through the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, a claim Sullivan rejected.
On matters of policy, there was little disagreement between the two front runners. Both were viewed as more centrist, though they did diverge on health care, with Shaheen backing “Medicare for All” and with Sullivan instead supporting a public option.
Carleigh Beriont emerged as the progressive challenger in a crowded field, after two other more progressive candidates — Heath Howard and Christian Urrutia — dropped out of the race. Though she serves as chair of Hampton’s selectboard, Beriont had little name recognition outside of that community heading into the race. In debates, at house parties and on the campaign trail, she presented herself as a happy warrior for progressive causes. Her campaign intentionally avoided using social media, and sought to build grassroots support through mailing postcards and door knocking.
The Associated Press showed Beriont with 22% of the vote.
DiLorenzo easily defeats GOP rivals
DiLorenzo was able to use his considerable wealth to self-fund his primary campaign: He is the founder of Key Auto group, a chain of car dealership and repair shops. In his first run for political office, he picked up President Donald Trump’s endorsement early in the race, and fueled his campaign with $1.6 million of his own money.
A first-time candidate for public office, he appeared to grow more comfortable with the role as the campaign stretched on, leaning heavily in his stump speech on his success in business.
“It’s my ability to create good jobs and deliver results,” DiLorenzo told reporters at his campaign headquarters in Portsmouth Tuesday night. “Something we haven’t had a lot of from our federal delegation in New Hampshire.”
That message clearly resonated with voters in the district.
“Anthony is what I think we should all aspire to be: a self-made person, ” said Rich Sawyer of Hampton, who was celebrating at the DiLorenzo campaign headquarters in Portsmouth Tuesday evening.
John Bosen, a local attorney, also praised DiLorenzo’s business background.
“Keeping the New Hampshire way and the New Hampshire advantage is very important,” said Bosen. “I think Anthony's going to do a good job at that.”
Noveletsky, whose family founded Novel Iron Works, a steel fabricator in the town of Greenland, ran unsuccessfully for this same seat two years ago, when she was edged out in the primary by Russell Prescott. She embraced the Trump administration’s policies on everything from immigration to Iran to tariffs, but Trump announced his endorsement of DiLorenzo relatively early in the race.
In recent debates, Novelesky and Brian Cole, a two-term state representative from Manchester who also sought the seat, criticized DiLorenzo for a previous comment regarding a possible path to amnesty for undocumented immigrants with no criminal records. DiLorenzo stressed his support for Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, however.
NHPR's Josh Rogers contributed reporting to this story.
