newsfromthestates.com · September 9, 2026
From climate change to the economy to healthcare, NH voters seek solutions with their ballots | News From The States [ Skip to main content ](#main-content) [   Part of States Newsroom ](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/) search Sort by Latest Relevant Search Search  Stories From The States Colorado ranchers join fight against fossil fuel companies 28:57 https://play.prx.org/e?ge=prx\_14251\_3c1657e2-db5d-478b-98db-eb90ca023a81&uf=https%3A%2F%2Fpublicfeeds.net%2Ff%2F14251%2Fstoriesfromthestates.xml [   Part of States Newsroom ](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/) News ###### From climate change to the economy to healthcare, NH voters seek solutions with their ballots ## Share [Bluesky](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#bluesky)[X](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#x)[Facebook](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#facebook)[Email](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#email)[Copy Link](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#copy_link)  [New Hampshire](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/state/new-hampshire) [News](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/news) # From climate change to the economy to healthcare, NH voters seek solutions with their ballots [Gov & Politics](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/category/gov-politics) Sep 08, 2026 | 9:52 pm ET By [William Skipworth](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/author/william-skipworth) Molly Rains Maya Mitchell Ethan DeWitt Share [Bluesky](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#bluesky)[X](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#x)[Facebook](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#facebook)[Email](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#email)[Copy Link](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/#copy_link)  Description Supporters hold signs for their preferred candidate in Wolfeboro during the Sept. 8, 2026, primary election. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) Scott Thompson, a retired mechanic from Epsom, usually doesn’t vote in midterm elections, but after a GOP candidate for state representative showed up at his door he decided to make plans to vote on Tuesday. “Josh Shapiro Jr. actually came to my house on a 98-degree day to talk to me,” Thompson, 59, said as he left the polls. “He made an effort more than I’d seen anybody else. I normally only vote in the presidential elections, but I thought: He’s going to make an effort; I’ll make an effort. So I looked at his website to see what he stood for.” After agreeing with his stances, Thompson decided that Shapiro earned his vote. As a Republican, he also voted for John Sununu for U.S. Senate and Gov. Kelly Ayotte for reelection. Thompson was among those who showed up at the polls throughout New Hampshire Tuesday to vote in primary elections. Bulletin reporters fanned out across the state to hear from voters about what motivated them to come out, how different candidates earned their votes, and how they feel about the state of democracy in the Granite State. In Concord, Susan Burkhardt voted in the Democratic congressional races but was torn between the progressives she agreed with more on policy and the centrists she felt had better chances in the general election. In the end, she picked one of each: She chose newcomer progressive Karishma Manzur over establishment centrist Chris Pappas for Senate, but incumbent U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander over her progressive challenger, Paige Beauchemin. “Pappas has never been my favorite,” she said. Burkhardt believes Pappas, who currently represents the eastern half of the state in the U.S. House of Representatives but is asking voters for a promotion to the Senate, is “pretty conservative for a Democrat.” At the top of the list for reasons Burkhardt voted against Pappas was his support for Israel. Pappas has long supported military aid to the Middle Eastern country. However, as Americans nationwide [have soured](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/07/09/americans-views-of-israelis-have-grown-increasingly-negative-but-views-of-palestinians-have-held-fairly-steady/) on Israel amid its multi-front wars and an increasing number of [independent experts](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/leading-genocide-scholars-organization-says-israel-is-committing-genocide-in-gaza) concluding its military is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, he’s moderated his stance. At AIPAC’s 2026 Congressional Summit in February, [Pappas enthusiastically called himself](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rbQV3lDnXLA) “a strong supporter of the bipartisan U.S.-Israel relationship, which is a cornerstone of our national security policy,” but in July, he voted “present” — neither for nor against — on a measure that would’ve restricted weapons sales to Israel. He [told the Bulletin](https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2026/09/07/u-s-senate-heres-what-separates-manzur-and-pappas-brown-and-sununu/) he wanted “a reset with respect to the U.S. policy toward Israel.” Burkhardt is unsure whether Manzur could win in November, but “it’s at least a message to the Democratic establishment here in New Hampshire, which is pretty stuck, that people are looking for something else.” In the 1st Congressional District, Burkhardt wanted to vote for Beauchemin, currently a state representative from Nashua, but was worried she would lose in a general election to a Republican, which she felt would be the worst outcome. Downballot, Burkhardt voted for Jason Quinno, a young candidate for state representative who knocked on her door. “(We) could use some youth,” she said. “The New Hampshire Legislature is so white and so old.”  Supporters for various candidates stand outside Manchester Memorial High School with signs to greet voters. (Photo by Maya Mitchell/New Hampshire Bulletin) In Warner, Sarah Hansen, a farmer and Democrat, cast her ballot with concerns about data centers, climate change, and “getting money out of politics” on her mind, she said on Tuesday morning. But the topic that informed her choices the most, she said, was healthcare. “I fall in a wage gap that’s just above qualifying for Medicaid and very well below being able to afford health insurance, given that (President Donald) Trump has taken away our subsidies,” she said. “Not having health insurance, in my occupation — not even just in my occupation, but just as a person living in the world, is quite scary.” In the New Hampshire Senate primary, Hansen said she voted for Manzur, in large part because Manzur has said she wants to see a single-payer Medicare for All health insurance system. Hansen said her peers, including other young adults like herself, faced similar challenges. “I think there’s a lot of people in my community, of my age, who are not making enough to pay rent, to pay a mortgage, to pay for health insurance, who are just this kind of, like, in-between class who’s being completely forgotten,” she said. Ha