KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) – New Hampshire voters came out in record turnout to cast their ballots for candidates for governor, Congress and the entire state Legislature yesterday in the general election. Two of the top races, Governor and 2nd Congressional District Representative were extra competitive with no incumbent running.

9:50 p.m. – The Associated Press has declared Republican Kelly Ayotte the winner of the race for Governor, defeating Democratic candidate Joyce Craig.

12:00 a.m. – Lily Tang Williams concedes the race for 2nd Congressional District representative to Maggie Goodlander in a news release.

Election officials at Keene’s Ward 1 voting location, which is where Keene State College students cast their ballots, said the number of new voters yesterday (945 of the 2,351 ballots cast) was a record turnout in this historic election.

Town-by-Town results in Cheshire County

Alstead: Voters supported Democrat Joyce Craig in a narrow gubernatorial race with 584 votes, while Kelly Ayotte earned 552 votes, and Steven Villee earned 32. Maggie Goodlander defeated Republican candidate Lily Tang Williams for CD-2 Representative in Alstead 685-483, and Karen Liot Hill earned 618 votes in the race for Executive Councilor in District 2 over Republican Kim Strathdee, who finished with 506. Democrat Donovan Fenton defeated challenger Rick Merkt in the race for State Senator, 645-496; and Daniel Adams Eaton won the seat for State Representative Cheshire District 9 with 590 votes to Rich Nalevanko’s 576. For State Representative Cheshire District 16, Democrat James Gruber was the winner with 624 votes to Bob Willis’s 494. Eli Rivera defeated Richard C. Pratt, Jr. for Sheriff, 622-508; and Richard N. Van Wickler earned 578 votes for County Commissioner, defeating Claudia R. Stewart, who finished with 515.

Chesterfield: Joyce Craig narrowly beat out Kelly Ayotte in the race for governor with 1,203 votes to AYotte’s 1,177 and Stephen Villee’s 39. Maggie Goodlander won the race for CD-2 representative with 1,386 votes; her Republican opponent, Lily Tang Williams, finished with 997. For Executive Councilor District 2, Karen Liot Hill beat Kim Strathdee with 1,220 votes while Strathdee earned 1,082; and Donovan Fenton won the race for State Senator with 1,324 votes to Rick Merkt’s 1,040. Two seats for State Representative in District 6 will be filled by winners Sean Graves (1,173) and Cathryn A. Harvey (1,176); and the two District 15 state representative seats go to Nicholas Germana (1,185 votes and Samantha Jacobs (1,252 votes). Eli Rivera won the race for Cheshire County Sheriff with 1,349 votes to Richard C. Pratt’s 989; and Benjamin Tilton won for County Commissioner against Skipper DiBernardo, 1,158-1,044.

Dublin: Joyce Craig (593) won the race for governor against Kelly Ayotte (488 votes) and Stephen Villee (17 votes). Maggie Goodlander won the 2nd Congressional District race with 654 votes; her opponent Lily Tang Williams finished with 443. Democrat Karen Liot Hill won the Executive Countil District 2 race with 593 votes, while Republican Kim Strathdee earned 446. The State Senator race went to Donovan Fenton, who won with 616 votes to Rick Merkt’s 432. For State Representative Cheshire District 13, Richard Ames won with 611 votes; Donald R. Primrose earned 450. The State Representative District 18 race on the Republican side went to Rita Mattson (445), while Jim Qualey earned 408. Hannah Bissex took the Democratic vote with 608 compared to Tom Hsu with 578. Eli Rivera won the race for Cheshire County Sheriff, earning 617 votes to Richard C. Pratt, Jr.’s 428; and Richard N. Van Wickler won the County Commissioner seat with 543 votes, beating out Claudia R. Stewart who finished with 429.

Fitzwilliam: Kelly Ayotte beat out Joyce Craig in the Democratic race for governor with 821 votes to Craig’s 576. Lily Tang Williams beat Maggie Goodlander in the race for CD-2 Representative, 768-656 respectively. For Executive Councilor, Dave Wheeler beat Melanie Levesque with 799 votes over Levesque’s 592. Denise Ricciardoiwon the race for State Senator, earning 753 votes to Matthew McLaughlin’s 650. Dick H. Thackston III beat Jack Gettens in the race for State Representative Cheshire District 12 withy 780 votes to Gettens’ 623. For State Representative Cheshire District 17, Jennifer Rhodes beat Kristan Tilton with 805 votes to Tilton’s 594. Richard C. Pratt, Jr. won the race for Sheriff with 734 votes to Eli Rivera’s 642 votes. Skipper DiBernardo won a narrow race for County Commissioner with 672 votes to Benjamin Tilton’s 621 votes.

Gilsum: Kelly Ayotte beat Joyce Craig in the gubernatorial race with 277 votes to Craig’s 217 and Stephen Villee’s 14. For CD-2 representative, Lily Tang Williams won the race against Maggie Goodlander, 253-247. For Executive Council District 2, Kim Strathdee beat Karen Liot Hill with 258 votes to Hill’s 224; and Ruth Ward won the State Senator seat over David Trumble, 269-222. Rich Nalevanko took the race for State Representative Cheshire District 9 over Daniel Eaton, 260-230; and Bob Willis won the race for State Representative Cheshire District 16 with 254 votes over Gruber’s 226. For Sheriff, Eli Rivera beat Richard C. Pratt, Jr., 270-217; and Claudia Stewart beat Richard H. Van Wickler for the County Commissioner seat, 238 votes to his 211.

Harrisville: Joyce Craig earned the support of Democratic voters in the gubernatorial race with 497 votes while Kelly Ayotte earned 253. Maggie Goodlander finished with 534 votes in the race for CD-2 Representative, beating Lily Tang Williams, who earned 221. In Executive Council District 2, Karen Liot Hill (499) defeated Kim Strathdee, who earned 234 votes. Donovan Fenton won the race for State Senator against Rick Merkt, 511-230. Lucius Parshall earned 545 votes in the race for State Representative Cheshire District 8, beating Jim Manley, who earned 8; and James Gruber landed a victory in the race for State Rep. Cheshire District 16 with 504 votes, beating Bob Willis’s 228. Eli Rivera cleanly won his race for Sheriff, earning 534 votes to Richard C. Pratt Jr.’s 204 and Earl Nelson’s 3. Richard N. Van Wickler won the County Commissioner seat over Claudia R. Stewart, 480-226.

Hinsdale: In the race for governor, voters supported Kelly Ayotte with 939 votes to Joyce Craig’s 866. Maggie Goodlander came out on top in the race for CD-2 Representative with 980 votes to Lily Tang Williams’s 837. Karen Liot Hill narrowly run her race for Executive Council District 2, earning 897 votes to Kim Strathdee’s 856. Matthew McLaughlin won the race for State Senator against Denise Ricciardi, 941-864. Paul Berch (865 votes) and Cahtryn A. Harvey (871 votes) each won a seat for State Representative Cheshire District 6; and Nicholas Germana (836) and Samantha Jacobs won seats as Cheshire District 15 state representatives. Eli Rivera won the race for Sheriff with 940 votes over Richard C. Pratt, Jr.’s 831; and Benjamin Tilton beat out Skipper DiBernardo in the race for County Commissioner, 954-740.

Jaffrey: Kelly Ayotte beat out Joyce Craig for governor, 1,704 to 1,385; and Maggie Goodlander won a close race against Lily Tang Williams for CD-2 representative, 1,603-1,524. Dave Wheeler won the Executive Councilor District 2 seat with 1,678 votes; Melanie Levesque finished with 1,387; and Denise Ricciardi won a close race against opponent Matthew McLaughlin, 1,562 votes to his 1,544. An even closer race was the one for State Representative Cheshire District 13, which saw Richard Ames beat out Donald R. Primrose, 1544-1,550. Democratic candidate Hannah Bissex (1,498) won the race for State Representative Cheshire District 18 against Tom Hsu (1,368); and Republican candidate Rita Mattson beat Jim Qualey with 1,507 votes to his 1,339. Richard C. Pratt, Jr. won the race for Cheshire County Sheriff with 1,568 votes to Rivera’s 1,454; and Claudia R. Stewart won for County Commissioner against Richard N. Van Wickler, 1,522-1,403.

Keene: Joyce Craig was the clear winner for governor in all of Keene’s five wards, beating Kelly Ayotte 7,796-4,552. Same for Maggie Goodlander, who earned 8,606 votes to Lily Tang Williams’ 3843 in the race for CD-2 representative. Democrat Karen Liot Hill won her face for Executive Councilor District 2 with 7,931 votes to challenger Kim Strathdee’s 4,004. Donovan Fenton earned 8,452 votes in the State Senator race, beating Rick Merkt who finished with 3,771. Dylan Germana won an uncontested race for State Representative District 1; Terri O’Rorke also was uncontested in the race for State Representative District 7 and Philip Jones won uncontested for State Representative District 3. In District 2, Dru Fox beat Nathan Carbone in the race for state representative, earning 1,563 votes to Carbone’s 816. Jodi Newell beat Thomas Savastano in the race for State Representative District 5, 1,553-814. In District 15, Samantha Jacobs and Nick Germana won seats as state representatives with 6,089 and 5,903 respectively. James Gruber won the race for State Representative District 16 with 1,688 votes to Bob Willis’s 753. For Sheriff, Eli Rivera cleanly won the race with 8,604 votes to Richard C. Pratt, Jr.’s 3,455.

Marlborough: In the race for governor, voters supported Joyce Craig with 714 votes votes, while challenger Kelly Ayotte earned 505, and Stephen Villee earned 34. Maggie Goodlander came out on top for CD-2 Representative with 797 votes while Lily Tang Williams earned 445. For Executive Council District 2, Karen Liot Hill earned 711 votes, and Kim Strathdee earned 483. Donovan Fenton defeated Rick Merkt for State Senator, 767-454. James Gruber won the race for State Representative Cheshire District 16 with 723 votes to Bob Willis’s 476; and Eli Rivera nearly doubled the amount of votes for a win for Sheriff over Richard C. Pratt, Jr., 808-409.

Marlow: On the Democratic ticket, Marlow voters supported Kelly Ayotte for Governor over Joyce Craig, with 227 and 206 votes respectively. It was a close race for CD-2 Representative, but nominee Maggie Goodlander came out on top with 237 votes, while Lily Tang Williams earned 205. Karen Liot Hill got a win in the race for Executive Council District 2 with 216 votes to Kim Strathdee’s 206. David Trumble wins the race for State Senator by only three votes over Ruth Ward, 220-217.  In the race for State Representative Cheshire District 9, Daniel Eaton defeated Rich Nalavenko, 228-213; and James Gruber secured a win for State Representative Cheshire District 16 with 221 votesover Willis’s 205. Eli Rivera won the race for Sheriff with 244 votes, Richard C. Pratt Jr. earned 187. Richard N. Van Wickler won the race for County Commissioner over Claudia Stewart by a narrow margin, 209-198.

Nelson: Voters in Nelson threw their support behind Craig for Governor with 244 votes over Kelly Ayotte’s 189 and Villee’s 3. Maggie Goodlander got a victory over Lily Tang Williams with 264 and 174 votes respectively. Karen Liot Hill earned 248 votes for Executive Councilor in District 2, while Kim Strathdee earned 176. Donovan Fenton beat Rick Merkt for State Senator, 255-174. For State Representative Cheshire District 16, Democrat James Gruber was the winner with 273 votes to Bob Willis’s 273; and Eli Rivera more than doubled the votes of Richard C. Pratt Jr., winning the race for Sheriff, 289-133. Richard N. Van Wickler won the race for County Commissioner over Claudia Stewart with 255 votes to her 175.

Richmond: Ayotte won the gubernatorial race with 484 votes to Joyce Craig’s 237. Lily Tang Williams earned 431 votes in the race for CD-2 representative, beating Maggie Goodlander, who finished with 300. Dave Wheeler beat Melanie Levesque in the race for Executive Councilor District 2 with 461 votes to her 253. Denise Ricciardi beat Matthew McLaughlin in the race for state senator with 488 votes to McLaughlin’s 288. Dan Leclair beat out Sly Karasinski in the race for State Representative District 10, 403-388; and Jennifer Rhodes won the race for State Representative District 17 with 461 votes to Kristan Tilton’s 253. Richard C. Pratt, Jr. won the close race for Sheriff with 373 votes to Eli Rivera’s 341; and Skipper DiBernardo won for County Commissioner with 410 votes to Benjamin Tilton’s 251.

Rindge: Kelly Ayotte won over Republican voters in Rindge in the race for Governor. She earned 2,401 votes over Joyce Craig’s 1,196, and Stephen Villee’s 71. Meanwhile, Lily Tang Williams defeated Maggie Goodlander with 2,247 votes vs. her 1,375 in the race for CD-2 Representative. For the Executive Council Rindge falls in District 5. Dave Wheeler earned 2,358 votes, while Melanie Levesque finished with 1,230. Kevin Avard beat Ben Ming in the race for State Senator, 2,404-1,187. For State Representative Cheshire District 14, John B. Hunt defeated Deni Dickler with 2,351 to Dickler’s 1,270. There was a race for House Representatives in Cheshire District 18. Democratic candidate Hannah Bissex beat Tom Hsu, 1,314-1,110; and Republican Jim Qualey beat Rita Mattson, 2,156-2,109. Richard C. Pratt, Jr. won the race for Sheriff with 2,262 votes to Rivera’s 1,246. Republican candidate Claudia R. Stewart won the race for County Commissioner, earning 2,181 votes. Richard N. Van Wickler earned 1,210.

Roxbury: Democrat Joyce Craig won the race for governor with Roxbury voters with 85 votes to challenger Kelly Ayotte, who earned 61 votes; and Stephen Villee, who earned four votes. Maggie Goodlander beat Lily Tang Williams in the race for CD-2 with 89 votes to Tang Williams’s 61. Incumbent Democrat Lucius Parshall won N.H. House District 8 uncontested with 93 votes; and Democrat James Gruber won the N.H. House District 16 seat with 76 votes to Bob Willis’s 60 votes.

Stoddard: Kelly Ayotte earned a victory in the race for governor with 524 votes; Joyce Craig finished with 375 and Stephen Villee with 22. Lily Tang Williams narrowly won the race for CD-2 representative with 464 votes to Maggie Goodlander’s 445. For Executive Councilor in District 2, Dave Wheeler beat out Melanie Levesque with 498 votes to her 386. Ruth Ward won the State Senator seat with 489 votes to David Trumble’s 408; and Rich Nalevanko won the race for State Representative District 9 with 470 votes over Daniel Adams Eaton, who earned 433. Bob Willis won the seat for State Representative Cheshire District 16 over James Gruber, 501-390; Richard C. Pratt Jr. won the seat for Sheriff over Eli Rivera, 464-410.; and Claudia Stewart earned a slim victory over Richard N. Van Wickler in the race for County Commissioner, 427-414.

Sullivan: In Sullivan, voters favored Kelly Ayotte for Governor. She earned 244 votes, Joyce Craig earned 173, and Stephen Villee earned 12. Lily Tang Williams earned the support of voters in Sullivan in the race for CD-2 representative with 224 votes while Maggie Goodlander earned 195. For Executive Councilor in District 2 Karen Liot Hill was defeated by Kim Strathdee, 224-173. Donovan Fenton defeated Republican Rick Merkt, 192-163. For State Representative Cheshire District 16, Bob Willis beat out James Gruber with 229 votes to Gruber’s 172. Eli Rivera won the race for Sheriff with 215 votes to Richard C. Pratt, Jr.’s 191; and Claudia R. Stewart beat out Richard N. Van Wickler in the race for County Commissioner with 220 votes to Van Wickler’s 166.

Surry: Democratic voters in Surry threw their support behind Kelly Ayotte in the gubernatorial race with 302 votes. Joyce Craig earned 257 and Stephen Villee earned 6. It was a close race for CD-2 representative but Maggie Goodlander came out on top with 305 votes over Lily Tang Williams’s 246. Karen Liot Hill earned 270 votes in the race for District 2 Executive Councilor, while Kim Strathdee earned 258. Donovan Fenton won the race for State Senator with 297 votes to Rick Merkt’s 248. The closest race in Surry was for State Representative Cheshire District 5, with Lucy McVitty Weber winning by only one vote over William J. Sommer, 271-270. The Republican race for State Representative Cheshire District 15 was won by John William Winter, who defeated Jerry L. Sickels with 236 votes to Siskel’s 226; on the Democratic side it was another razor-thin vote margin: Nicholas Germana defeated Samantha Jacobs, 267-266. Eli Rivera won the race for Sheiff with 318 votes to Richard C. Pratt Jr.’s 223; and Richard N. Van Wickler beat Claudia R. Stewart for County Commissioner, 269-226.

Swanzey: Kelly Ayotte won the gubernatorial race in Swanzey with 2,211 votes to Joyce Craig’s 1,833 and Stephen Villee’s 90. For CD-2 representative, Maggie Goodlander won with 2,139 votes to Lily Tang Williams’ 1,921. The second district Executive Councilor race went to Dave Wheeler with 2,108 votes; Melanie Levesque received 1,841 votes; and Donovan Fenton came out on top in the race for State Senator with 2,066 votes to Rick Merkt’s 1,901. The two state representative seats in Cheshire District 10 went to Barry Faulkner (1,977 votes) and Sly Karasinski (1,812); and Jennifer Rhodes won the Cheshire District 17 seat for state representative with 2,081 votes to Kristan Tilton’s 1,870. For Sheriff, Eli Rivera beat Richard C. Pratt, Jr. 2,209 to 1,752; and the County Commissioner race went to Skipper DiBarnardo, who finished with 1,928 votes to Benjamin Tilton’s 1,894 votes.

Troy: Kelly Ayotte beat Joyce Craig in the race for governor, 659-458; Lily Tang Williams won the race for CD-2 representative, beating Maggie Goodlander, 615-474; Executive Councilor District 2 Dave Wheeler beat opponent Melanie Levesque with 669 votes to Levesque’s 395; Denise Ricciardi State Senator seat over Matthew McLaughlin, 625-451. For State Representative District 12, Dick H. Thackston III beat Jack Gettens, 586-505; and Jennifer Rhodes for State Representative District 17, 638 votes to Kristan Tilton’s 449. Richard C. Pratt, Jr. won the bid for Sheriff with 590 votes to Eli Rivera’s 496; and Skipper DiBernardo will be named County Commissioner, having earned 599 votes over Benjamin Tilton’s 419.

Walpole: Joyce Craig won the Governor’s race with 1,265 votes over Kelly Ayotte’s 1,027 and Stephne Villee’s 44. CD-2 Representative nominee Maggie Goodlander beat Lily Tang Williams by more than 500 votes, 1,429-881. For Executive Council District 2, Karen Liot Hill won with 1,280 votes, and Kim Strathdee earned 924. In the race for State Representative Cheshire District 5, Lucy McVitty Weber beat opponent William J. Sommer with 1,339 votes to Sommer’s 941. The Republican winner of the race for State Representative Cheshire District 15 was John William Winter with 866 votes to Jerry L. Sickels’s 841; and on the Democratic side, Samantha Jacobs defeated Nicholas Germana, 1,307 to 1,192. Eli Rivera easily won the race for Sheriff against Richard C. Pratt Jr., 1,356-882; and Richard N. Van Wickler earned 1,254 votes in the race for County Commissioner, beating Claudia B. Stewart, who earned 928.

Westmoreland: Joyce Craig won the race for governor by a razor-thin margin over Kelly Ayotte, with 540 votes to Ayotte’s 537. CD-2 Representative nominee Maggie Goodlander came out on top with 612 votes over Lily Tang Williams, who earned 479. Karen Liot Hill earned 567 votes in the race for district 2 Executive Councilor, while Kim Strathdee earned 475.  Voters favored Donovan Fenton for State Senator; he received 589 votes to Rick Merkt’s 482. Sean Graves beat Robert Sutherland in the Republican race for State Representative Cheshire District 6 with 488 votes to Sutherland’s 410; and Paul Berch won the Democratic race with 576 votes to Cathryn A. Harvey’s 552. For the State Representative Cheshire District 15 race, Republican John William Winter earned 445 votes, beating Jerry L. Sickels with 436; and Democrat Samantha Jacobs earned 544 votes, defeating Nicholas Germana, who received 534. Eli Rivera won his race for Sheriff with 631 votes to Richard C. Pratt, Jr.’s 422; and Democrat Richard N. Van Wickler won the race for County Commissioner with 565 votes, beating Claudia R. Stewart, who finished with 467.

Winchester: Kelly Ayotte secured a victory in the gubernatorial race, earning 1,110 votes to Joyce Craig’s 830. Lily Tang Williams edged out Maggie Goodlander with 1,068 to her 902. For Executive Council District 2, Kim Strathdee beat her Republican opponent, Karon Liot Hill, 1,043-830. Denise Ricciardi won the race for State Senator, beating Matthew McLaughlin with 1,022 and 912 votes respectively. For State Representative Cheshire District 11, Denis Vincent Murphy, II earned 1,076 votes, beating his opponent Natalie Quevedo, 1,976 to 873. The State Representative Cheshire District 17 win went to Jennifer Rhodes with 1,159 votes; Kristan Titon earned 791. Voters supported Eli Rivera for Cheshire County Sheriff, he earned 1,076 votes while Richard C. Pratt, Jr. finished with 837; and Skipper DiBernardo won a close race for County Commissioner, earning 910 votes to Benjamin Tilton’s 904.

Towns that voted “yes” to the Constitutional Amendment proposed by the 2023 general court that states no person who holds the office of sheriff can be over the age of 70 or hold the office of judge of any court after age 75 are Chesterfield, Nelson, Rindge, Hinsdale, Marlow, Keene, Hinsdale, Stoddard, Swanzey, Winchester, Gilsum, Westmoreland, Alstead, Surry, Marlborough, Walpole, Harrisville, Dublin, Jaffrey, Troy and Swanzey.