WASHINGTON — Tonight, Democrat Kathleen Martins won her special election, flipping a New Hampshire seat that voted for Trump by nearly 10 points from red to blue. This win builds on Democratic success in 2018 when Democrats flipped both the New Hampshire House and Senate from red to blue.
“We’re thrilled to add this to the list of over 430 seats that have flipped red to blue since Donald Trump’s election,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Jessica Post. “Democrats are on complete offense this year and challenging Republicans in traditionally difficult districts — and we are winning. Granite Staters have made it clear they would like to keep their Democratic legislature. Congratulations to Kathleen Martins on a great campaign.”
A longtime union member, Kathleen Martins decided to run for office to fight for strong public schools, well-paying jobs, and access to affordable health care. Martins has served as a professor at Manchester Community College for nearly 10 years and is a longtime activist in her community.
Democrats were up against Elliot Axelman, whose radical, right-wing stances ranged from “abolish[ing] Medicare” to agreeing with Trump that there were “very fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville. Tonight’s victory means that New Hampshirites will have a representative willing to fight for their communities instead of a right-wing radical who would govern in lockstep with Donald Trump.
The DLCC has flipped 10 chambers and more than 430 state legislative seats since Donald Trump’s election. The DLCC is on complete offense in 2020 and plans to spend $50 million in its “Flip Everything” campaign to target more than a dozen Republican-held chambers across the country.
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