Overview & Live Results: Alabama and New Hampshire State House Special Elections

There are two state house special elections and one special primary Tuesday.

Alabama

State House District 78

There are 105 State House districts in Alabama. The chamber is dominated by Republicans, who hold a 76-26 advantage. There are three vacancies. The state is one of a handful where Representatives are elected for four-year terms; the next regularly scheduled election is in 2022.

The District 78 vacancy was created by the resignation of Democrat Kirk Hatcher after he won a March 2 special election for an open State Senate seat. 

The Democratic nominee is Kenyatte Hassell. She won a runoff primary election against Donald Williams on June 22. The Republican nominee is Loretta Grant, who was the only qualifier from her party.

This Montgomery area district is heavily Democratic: Hatcher won with 83% of the vote over an independent in 2018. The last time the GOP fielded a candidate, in 2014, the nominee lost 73% to 27%.

Polls close at 8:00 PM ET.

New Hampshire

The 400 member New Hampshire House is the largest one in the United States. There are currently 208 Republicans and 186 Democrats, with six vacancies. Five of these open seats were previously held by Republicans. The next regularly scheduled elections are in 2022.

Polls close at 7:00 PM ET.

State House District Hillsborough 7

Hillsborough 7 is a multi-member district with 6 representatives. Four of the current incumbents are Republicans, one is Democratic. The seat has been vacant since May 22, when Republican David Danielson died.

There were no primaries, as only one candidate filed from each party. The nominees are Democrat Catherine Rombeau and Republican Linda Camarota. Rombeau was on the ballot last November, finishing outside the top 6. Camarota previously served here - she was elected in 2018 but did not seek reelection in 2020.

UPDATE:  While Rombeau looks to have narrowly won - flipping the seat to the Democrats - it is expected that Camarota is going to file for a recount. 

State House District Cheshire 9 (GOP Primary)

Of the six vacancies, this is the one previously held by a Democrat. The remaining Representative of the two-member District Cheshire 9 is also a Democrat. The vacancy occurred when Douglas Ley died on June 10.

Republicans Lucille Decker and Rita Mattson meet in Tuesday's GOP primary. Mattson was on the ballot this past November, finishing 3rd. The winner will face off against Democrat Andrew Maneval in the October 26 special general election. Maneval does not have any intraparty opposition for the nomination.

Upcoming

• September 14:
  • California Gubernatorial Recall Election
  • Mayoral Primaries in Ohio: Cleveland and Toledo
  • Boston Mayoral Primary
  • Iowa State House District 37 Special Election
  • Tennessee State House District 29 Special Election
• October 5
  • Rhode Island State Senate District 3 Primary
  • Durham, NC Mayoral Primary
• October 26
  • New Hampshire State House Cheshire District 9 Special Election