A Democrat has flipped a state House seat in New Hampshire, marking the first time since President Joe Biden took office that a Republican-to-Democrat flip of a legislative seat has taken place. In the race in question, Democrat Catherine Rombeau won over Republican Linda Rea Camarota by just under 40 votes out of around 4,600 total votes. (New Hampshire has a considerable number of state House districts, meaning that each district is relatively small.) The district covered by the flipped seat covers at least part of Bedford, New Hampshire, which sits in the state’s Hillsborough County, which has the highest population of any county in the state.
The race unfolded after the late state Rep. David Danielson (R), who previously held the seat, passed away earlier this year. At present, Republicans are in control of the New Hampshire state House — which has over 400 seats — but their leading margin in the chamber sits at under 10 seats, meaning that the state House could easily flip back to Democrats. With every win like Rombeau’s, such a change at the chamber level comes closer into view.
Jessica Post — who serves as the president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and whose organization, which is an official arm of the Democratic Party, worked on behalf of Rombeau’s campaign — identified abortion rights as the chief issue looming over the race. The recent enactment by Texas of a draconian abortion ban covering almost all pregnancies after some six weeks of gestation has pushed abortion rights back into the forefront of the national conversation (not that the issue ever particularly faded — there’s simply a renewed urgency). As Post observed, many voters trust Democrats’ pro-choice positions.
She commented as follows, discussing the New Hampshire race:
‘The number one issue in this race was abortion rights. The voters chose: they trust women, not the GOP, to make decisions about their own bodies. We have full confidence that Dems’ pro-choice position connects with voters yesterday, today, and tomorrow.’
The number one issue in this race was abortion rights. The voters chose: they trust women, not the GOP, to make decisions about their own bodies. We have full confidence that Dems' pro-choice position connects with voters yesterday, today, and tomorrow. https://t.co/ceWr9kCHH0
— Jessica Post (@JessicaPost) September 8, 2021
Democrats will have another chance to put their pro-choice positions in front of voters in the upcoming midterm election cycle.
