The 2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the governor of New Hampshire, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The primaries were held on September 13.
Incumbent Democratic governor Maggie Hassan was eligible to run for re-election to a third term in office, but she instead successfully ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Kelly Ayotte. In the general election, Republican nominee Chris Sununu defeated Democrat Colin Van Ostern and Libertarian state representative Max Abramson to become the first Republican governor of New Hampshire elected since 2002. With a margin of 2.27%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2016 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in North Carolina.
Governor Maggie Hassan, the incumbent from the Democratic Party, declined to run for reelection, choosing to seek a U.S. Senate seat instead. Both major parties had multiple declared candidates, leading to primary elections that were held September 13, 2016.
New Hampshire and Vermont are the only states in the country whose governors are elected every two years.
Aggregate polls<br />
with Maggie Hassan<br />
with Stefany Shaheen<br />
with Chris Pappas<br />
with Terie Norelli<br />
with Mark Connolly<br />
with Jackie Cilley<br />
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Sununu won one of the two congressional districts, which elected a Democrat.