2022 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2022 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2022 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of New Hampshire. Incumbent Republican Governor Chris Sununu won election to a fourth term, defeating Democratic nominee Tom Sherman.

2022 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

← 2020 November 8, 2022 2024 →
Turnout	67.63%
Nominee Chris Sununu Tom Sherman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 352,982 256,774 Percentage 56.98% 41.47%
County results Congressional district results Municipality results Precinct results Sununu:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Sherman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      >90%
Governor before election Chris Sununu Republican Elected Governor Chris Sununu Republican

Sununu had "expressed interest" in running for the U.S. Senate in 2022 against incumbent Democrat (and former governor) Maggie Hassan. However, on November 9, 2021, he announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor.^[1] Sununu became the first Republican to win a fourth term as governor, also tying John Lynch's modern record of four terms overall.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chris Sununu, incumbent governor^[1]

Eliminated in primary

• Julian Acciard, security specialist, Iraq War veteran, and former candidate for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional district in 2022^[2]
• Jay Lewis, Laconia resident^[3]
• Richard McMenamon II^[4]
• Thad Riley, entrepreneur, former Brentwood school board member and community advocate^[5]
• Karen Testerman, former Franklin city councilor and candidate for governor in 2020^[6]

Declined

• Kelly Ayotte, former U.S. senator^[7]
• Scott Brown, former U.S. senator from Massachusetts and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2014^[8]

Endorsements

Chris Sununu

Organizations

• NRA Political Victory Fund^[9]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Thad Riley	Chris Sununu	Karen Testerman	Other	Undecided
University of New Hampshire[10]	August 25–29, 2022	892 (LV)	± 3.3%	7%	72%	5%	2%[b]	14%
Saint Anselm College[11]	August 9–11, 2022	820 (RV)	± 3.4%	5%	68%	6%	2%	19%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Kelly Ayotte	Scott Brown	Frank Edelbut	Chuck Morse	Undecided
Praecones Analytica[12]	August 13–20, 2021	792 (LV)	± 3.5%	46%	13%	7%	6%	29%

Hypothetical polling

Results

Results by county:

  Sununu

•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Republican primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chris Sununu (incumbent)	113,443	78.66%
	Republican	Karen Testerman	14,473	10.04%
	Republican	Thaddeus Riley	11,107	7.70%
	Republican	Julian Acciard	2,906	2.01%
	Republican	Jay Lewis	1,318	0.91%
	Republican	Richard McMenamon II	817	0.57%
	Write-in		160	0.11%
Total votes			144,224	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tom Sherman, state senator from the 24th district^[14]

Declined

• Dan Feltes, former majority leader of the New Hampshire Senate from the 15th district and nominee for governor in 2020^[15] (moved out of state in 2021)
• John Lynch, former governor^[16]
• Jodi Picoult, author^[17]
• Andru Volinsky, former Executive Councilor and candidate for governor in 2020^[18]
• Cinde Warmington, Executive Councilor (running for re-election)^[3]

Endorsements

Tom Sherman

Organizations

• American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire^[19]
• National Education Association New Hampshire^[20]

Results

Democratic primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Sherman	82,607	97.57%
	Republican	Chris Sununu (incumbent) (write-in)	1,963	2.32%
	Write-in		95	0.11%
Total votes			84,665	100.0%

Other candidates

Libertarian Party

Nominees

• Karlyn Borysenko, activist and author^[21]
• Kelly Halldorson^[21]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[22]	Solid R	March 4, 2022
Inside Elections[23]	Solid R	September 23, 2022
Sabato's Crystal Ball[24]	Safe R	August 18, 2022
Politico[25]	Solid R	November 3, 2022
RCP[26]	Safe R	June 8, 2022
Fox News[27]	Likely R	May 12, 2022
538[28]	Solid R	August 26, 2022
Elections Daily[29]	Safe R	November 7, 2022

Endorsements

Chris Sununu (R)

U.S. executive branch officials

• Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations (2017–2018) and Governor of South Carolina (2011–2017)^[30]

Organizations

• Humane Society Legislative Fund^[31]
• NRA Political Victory Fund^[9]

Tom Sherman (D)

U.S. senators

• Maggie Hassan, U.S. senator from New Hampshire (2017–present) and Governor of New Hampshire (2013–2017)^[32]
• Jeanne Shaheen, U.S. senator from New Hampshire (2009–present) and Governor of New Hampshire (1997–2003)^[32]

U.S. representatives

• Annie Kuster, U.S. Representatives for New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district (2013–present)^[32]
• Chris Pappas, U.S. Representatives for New Hampshire's 1st congressional district (2019–present)^[32]

Organizations

• American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire^[33]
• National Education Association New Hampshire^[20]

Polling

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Chris Sununu (R)	Tom Sherman (D)	Other [c]	Margin
Real Clear Politics[34]	October 28 – November 6, 2022	November 8, 2022	56.4%	39.4%	4.2%	Sununu +17.0
FiveThirtyEight[35]	September 15, 2021 – November 8, 2022	November 8, 2022	55.4%	39.0%	5.6%	Sununu +16.4
Average			55.9%	39.2%	4.9%	Sununu +16.7

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Chris Sununu (R)	Tom Sherman (D)	Other	Undecided
Phillips Academy[36]	November 5–6, 2022	1,056 (LV)	± 3.0%	58%	36%	–	6%
University of New Hampshire[37]	November 2–6, 2022	2,077 (LV)	± 2.2%	55%	43%	2%[d]	<1%
InsiderAdvantage (R)[38][A]	November 5, 2022	700 (LV)	± 3.7%	56%	40%	2%[e]	2%
Data for Progress (D)[39]	November 2–5, 2022	1,995 (LV)	± 2.0%	58%	40%	2%[f]	–
Wick Insights[40]	November 2–5, 2022	725 (LV)	± 3.6%	53%	43%	2%[g]	2%
Emerson College[41]	October 30 – November 1, 2022	850 (LV)	± 3.3%	57%	36%	4%[h]	4%
				58%	37%	6%[i]	–
Saint Anselm College[42]	October 28–29, 2022	1,541 (LV)	± 2.5%	55%	37%	2%[j]	6%
co/efficient (R)[43]	October 25–26, 2022	1,098 (LV)	± 3.2%	52%	34%	5%[k]	8%
UMass Lowell/YouGov[44]	October 14–25, 2022	600 (LV)	± 5.1%	51%	35%	12%[l]	2%
InsiderAdvantage (R)[45][A]	October 23, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	54%	37%	4%[m]	6%
Emerson College[46]	October 18–19, 2022	727 (LV)	± 3.6%	52%	40%	3%[n]	5%
				54%	41%	4%[o]	–
Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R)[47][B]	October 17–19, 2022	600 (LV)	–	57%	40%	–	4%
Data for Progress (D)[48]	October 14–19, 2022	1,392 (LV)	± 3.0%	53%	40%	3%[p]	4%
Fabrizio Ward (R)/Impact Research (D)[49]	October 2–6, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	55%	41%	1%	3%
Data for Progress (D)[50]	September 23–30, 2022	1,147 (LV)	± 3.0%	52%	39%	4%[q]	5%
Saint Anselm College[51]	September 27–28, 2022	901 (RV)	± 3.3%	50%	34%	5%[r]	11%
Suffolk University[52]	September 23–26, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	53%	36%	4%[s]	8%
American Research Group[53]	September 15–19, 2022	555 (RV)	± 4.2%	53%	38%	–	9%
University of New Hampshire[54]	September 15–19, 2022	870 (LV)	± 3.3%	55%	37%	1%[t]	8%
Emerson College[55]	September 14–15, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.4%	52%	37%	4%[u]	7%
Saint Anselm College[11]	August 9–11, 2022	1,898 (RV)	± 2.3%	48%	29%	4%	18%
Public Policy Polling (D)[56][C]	July 5–6, 2022	601 (LV)	± 4.0%	43%	33%	8%[v]	16%
University of New Hampshire[57]	April 14–18, 2022	868 (LV)	± 3.5%	55%	29%	1%	14%
Phillips Academy[58]	April 4–8, 2022	533 (A)	± 4.2%	62%	24%	–	14%
		471 (RV)	± 4.5%	73%	24%	–	3%
Saint Anselm College[59]	March 23–24, 2022	1,265 (RV)	± 2.8%	51%	24%	10%	15%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Chris Sununu (R)	Generic Opponent	Undecided
Saint Anselm College[60]	January 11–12, 2022	1,215 (RV)	± 2.8%	45%	45%	10%

Hypothetical polling

Chris Sununu vs. generic opponent

Results

2022 New Hampshire gubernatorial election^[61]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Chris Sununu (incumbent)	352,813	56.98%	−8.14%
	Democratic	Tom Sherman	256,766	41.47%	+8.11%
	Libertarian	Kelly Halldorson	5,071	0.82%	N/A
	Libertarian	Karlyn Borysenko	2,772	0.45%	N/A
	Write-in		1,713	0.28%	+0.19%
Total votes			619,135	100.0%
Turnout			626,845	67.63%
Registered electors			925,401
	Republican hold

By county

By county

Shift by municipality Trend by municipality Legend   Republican — >15%   Republican — +12.5−15%   Republican — +10−12.5%   Republican — +7.5−10%   Republican — +5−7.5%   Republican — +2.5−5%   Republican — +0−2.5%   No change   Democratic — +0−2.5%   Democratic — +2.5−5%   Democratic — +5−7.5%   Democratic — +7.5-10%   Democratic — +10−12.5%   Democratic — +12.5−15%   Democratic — >15% 2022 gubernatorial election results in New Hampshire (by county) [62] County Tom Sherman Democratic Chris Sununu Republican Other votes Total votes #  % #  % #  % # Belknap 9,429 31.1% 20,499 67.5% 425 1.4% 30,353 Carroll 10,306 37.9% 16,554 60.9% 342 1.3% 27,202 Cheshire 16,890 49.8% 16,503 48.7% 516 1.5% 33,909 Coös 4,194 32.8% 8,251 64.4% 360 2.8% 12,805 Grafton 21,483 50.4% 20,427 48.0% 676 1.6% 42,586 Hillsborough 69,673 40.5% 99,608 58.0% 2,585 1.5% 171,866 Merrimack 30,835 43.6% 38,669 54.7% 1,248 1.8% 70,752 Rockingham 59,759 38.8% 92,043 59.8% 2,216 1.4% 154,018 Strafford 26,495 46.9% 29,100 51.5% 929 1.6% 56,524 Sullivan 7,702 40.3% 11,159 58.4% 259 1.4% 19,120 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Cheshire (largest city: Keene) Grafton (largest city: Lebanon)

By congressional district

Sununu won both congressional districts, which both elected Democrats.^[63]

District	Sununu	Sherman	Representative
1st	58%	40%	Chris Pappas
2nd	56%	43%	Annie Kuster

See also

• Elections in New Hampshire
• Political party strength in New Hampshire
• New Hampshire Democratic Party
• New Hampshire Republican Party
• Government of New Hampshire
• 2022 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
• 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire
• 2022 New Hampshire House of Representatives election
• 2022 New Hampshire Senate election
• 2022 New Hampshire elections
• 2022 United States gubernatorial elections
• 2022 United States elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Acciard and "Other" with 1%
3. Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
4. Halldorson (L) with 1%; "Another candidate" with 1%; Borysenko (L) with <1%
5. "Someone else" with 2%
6. Halldorson (L) with 2%
7. "Someone else" with 2%
8. Borysenko (L) with 2%; Halldorson (L) with 1%; "Someone else" with 1%
9. Borysenko (L) with 2%; Halldorson (L) with 2%; "Someone else" with 2%
10. Borysenko (L) with 1%; Halldorson (L) with 1%
11. Borysenko (L) with 4%; Halldorson (L) with 1%
12. Halldorson (L) with 5%; Borysenko (L) with 2%; "Another candidate" with 5%
13. "Someone else" with 4%
14. "Someone else" with 2%; Halldorson (L) with 1%; Borysenko (L) with <1%
15. "Someone else" with 3%; Halldorson (L) with 1%; Borysenko (L) with <1%
16. Halldorson (L) with 3%
17. Halldorson (L) with 4%
18. "Someone else" with 5%
19. Borysenko (L) with 2%; Halldorson (L) with 2%
20. Borysenko (L) with 1%
21. "Someone else" with 4%
22. Borysenko (L) with 8%

Partisan clients

1. Poll conducted for American Greatness, a conservative news and opinions site.
2. This poll was sponsored by Bolduc's campaign, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.
3. Poll sponsored by Sherman's campaign

References

1. "New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu Not Running For US Senate, Will Seek 4th Term As Governor". CBS Boston. November 9, 2021. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
2. "Acciard Leaves NH-01 Race to Challenge Sununu in Primary". NH Journal. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
3. "Welcome". New Hampshire Secretary of State.
4. "2022 Republican Cumulative Filings". New Hampshire Secretary of State. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
5. Bailey, Kathleen D. (November 3, 2021). "Ex-Brentwood School Board member runs for NH governor, criticizes Sununu, vaccine mandates". The Portsmouth Herald. Gannett. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
6. DiStaso, John (July 29, 2021). "NH Primary Source: Karen Testerman, running again for governor, says, 'I'm not a protest candidate'". WMUR-TV. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
7. DiStaso, John [@jdistaso] (November 9, 2021). "BREAKING: Sources close to former Sen @KellyAyotte tell @WMUR9 she "will NOT be a candidate for any office in 2022…." Ayotte "thankful" @ChrisSununu ChrisSununu "will continue his service to our state." #nhsen #NHgov #NHPolitics #WMUR" (Tweet). Retrieved November 9, 2021 – via Twitter.
8. DiStaso, John [@jdistaso] (November 9, 2021). "Now: @SenScottBrown has essentially taken himself out of the running for the #nhsen seat, says he wants to focus on his wife, @gailhuffbrown in her bid for #nh01 - His comments to @WMUR9 below #nhpolitics #WMUR" (Tweet). Retrieved November 9, 2021 – via Twitter.
9. "New Hampshire Grades & Endorsements". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. University of New Hampshire
11. Saint Anselm College
12. Praecones Analytica
13. "2022 State Primary Election Results". New Hampshire Department of State.
14. "NH state Sen. Tom Sherman exploring gubernatorial run". Associated Press. February 15, 2022. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
15. Steinhauser, Paul (October 29, 2021). "On the trail: Who would replace Sununu in governor's office?". Concord Monitor. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
16. DiStaso, John (November 11, 2021). "Former Gov. John Lynch says he's 'not even considering' running for governor again". WMUR-TV. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
17. Sexton, Adam (April 14, 2021). "Progressive activists try to recruit author Picoult into run for governor". WMUR-TV. Concord, N.H. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021. Picoult announced on Wednesday evening via Twitter that she would not be running for governor.
18. "Franklin Pierce University Names Andru Volinsky as its First Civic Scholar-In-Residence".
19. Staff Report (August 24, 2022). "Sherman Outraises Sununu; Wins AFT-NH Endorsement". InDepthNH. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
20. Sexton, Adam (August 2, 2022). "New Hampshire's largest teachers union endorses Democrat Sherman for governor". WMUR9. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
21. "Nh sos".^{[permanent dead link]}
22. "2022 Governor Race Ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
23. "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
24. "2022 Gubernatorial race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
25. "New Hampshire Governor Race 2022". Politico. April 1, 2022.
26. "2022 Governor Races". RCP. January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
27. "2022 Election Forecast". Fox News. May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
28. "2022 Election Forecast". FiveThirtyEight. June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
29. Szymanski, Joe (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Unveils Final 2022 Midterm Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
30. "Haley endorses Sununu, Bolduc; heading to New Hampshire this week to join them on campaign trail". Fox News. September 19, 2022.
31. "Chris Sununu's Ratings and Endorsements". justfacts.votesmart.org. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
32. "Congressional Delegation Endorses Tom Sherman for Governor". October 18, 2022.
33. "Sherman Outraises Sununu; Wins AFT-NH Endorsement". InDepthNH. August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
34. Real Clear Politics
35. FiveThirtyEight
36. Phillips Academy
37. University of New Hampshire
38. InsiderAdvantage (R)
39. Data for Progress (D)
40. Wick Insights
41. Emerson College
42. Saint Anselm College
43. co/efficient (R)
44. UMass Lowell/YouGov
45. InsiderAdvantage (R)
46. Emerson College
47. Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R)
48. Data for Progress (D)
49. Fabrizio Ward (R)/Impact Research (D)
50. Data for Progress (D)
51. Saint Anselm College
52. Suffolk University
53. American Research Group
54. University of New Hampshire
55. Emerson College
56. Public Policy Polling (D)
57. University of New Hampshire
58. Phillips Academy
59. Saint Anselm College
60. Saint Anselm College
61. "2022 General Election Results". New Hampshire Department of State.
62. "2022 General Election Results".
63. https://www.davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::a1a2b285-f862-402c-9e89-b45791a46473

External links

Official campaign websites

• Karlyn Borysenko (L) for Governor
• Tom Sherman (D) for Governor
• Chris Sununu (R) for Governor