Democrats win GOP seat in New Hampshire, notching 10th straight special election flip

New Hampshire Democrat Bobbi Boudman, at right (credit: Bobbi Boudman Facebook)

The third time was the charm for New Hampshire Democrat Bobbi Boudman, who flipped a Republican-held seat in the state House in a special election on Tuesday night.

Boudman, a financial analyst, defeated Republican Dale Fincher, a Christian nonprofit speaker and investment firm founder, by a 52-48 margin to win Carroll County’s 7th District.

The seat became vacant last year when state Rep. Glenn Cordelli gave it up after reportedly moving out of state. Cordelli had previously beaten Boudman twice in a row, first by a 56-44 margin in 2022, then by a wider 57-43 spread two years later.

Donald Trump also carried the district, which includes the towns of Ossipee, Tuftonboro, and Wolfeboro, by a 54-45 margin. Ordinarily, that might have been enough to keep the seat red, but Boudman was undeterred, and Republicans were nonetheless worried.

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Shortly before the election, the New Hampshire Union Leader’s Kevin Landrigan wrote that the GOP was “pulling out all the stops.”

Fincher raised $25,000 for the race, while outside groups spent at least $30,000 on his behalf. Fincher’s benefactors included the Republican State Leadership Committee, the GOP’s official campaign arm dedicated to winning legislative elections, and the Koch network’s Americans for Prosperity.

Boudman, by contrast, raised $12,000 and, according to campaign finance records, received no comparable outside help.

The two candidates clashed most notably on the issue of school vouchers, with Fincher supportive of the state’s “Education Freedom Accounts” and Boudman opposed. Boudman also had deep roots in the area, while Fincher only recently moved into the district, which forced him to run in the GOP primary as a write-in.

Following Boudman’s win, Republicans now hold a 214-178 advantage in the 400-member state House, with one seat held by an independent and the rest vacant. Given New Hampshire’s penchant for major swings at the state level, Boudman’s showing suggests Democrats have a real shot at reclaiming the House in November, when every seat will be up.