Election season is not over yet. As we speak, votes are being counted across the country as a record number of voters mailed in ballots, voted early, and showed up yesterday to vote. Here in New Hampshire, we saw lines across the state, a record turnout of young voters, and lots of sign holders. 350NH Action and our amazing volunteers sent over 125,000 texts and made over 12,000 phone calls to get out the vote. We are grateful for all the hard work that has been done. As a result of the organizing of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Working class, and young people in New Hampshire, Joe Biden won the election in our state.
While our votes have been counted in New Hampshire, there are a few recounts being called for, and across the country, there are states still tallying the votes for hundreds of thousands of mail in ballots. The election is not over: we must ensure that every vote is counted.
We also saw some local victories in New Hampshire: for climate champions down-ballot who will represent us in the state house. We are grateful for these candidates’ hard work and look forward to working with them. Of our endorsed candidates, we are sending the following to Concord:
Becky Whitley, State Senate District 15
Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, State Senate District 21
Lawrence Welkowitz, Cheshire County District 4
Lucius Parshall, Cheshire County District 10
Amanda Elizabeth Toll, Cheshire County District 16
Don Bouchard, Hillsborough County District 11
Andrew Bouldin, Hillsborough County District 12
Tony Labranche, Hillsborough County District 22
Jan Schmidt, Hillsborough County District 28
Manny Espitia, Hillsborough County District 31
Tony Caplan, Merrimack County District 6
Kris Schultz, Merrimack County District 18
Samantha Fox, Merrimack County District 23
Rebecca McWilliams, Merrimack County District 27
Renny Cushing, Rockingham County District 21
David Meuse, Rockingham County District 29
Cam Kenney, Strafford County District 6
Chuck Grassie, Strafford County District 11
Ariel Oxaal, Strafford County District 15
Sherry Frost, Strafford County District 16
While we are excited to have these state representatives on our side, we also had some huge losses in the state. Unfortunately, Governor Sununu won re-election, and we lost important Senate, House, and Executive Council seats. We have a lot of work left to do. The next two years are going to be a constant battle to fight for racial justice, economic justice, social justice, and climate justice in our state. The disappointing results of this election means that we have a fight ahead of us.
Alongside Black Lives Matter, New Hampshire Youth Movement, Rights & Democracy, and other NH Organizations, we stood in front of the state house on November 4th and called for every vote to be counted across the country. Along with the call to count every vote, our speakers reminded us that New Hampshire has a lot of work to do. Governor Sununu has vetoed so much important legislation, and now that the house and senate are on his side, we will not be able to pass the legislation we need to move New Hampshire in the right direction.
So much feels like it is on the line after this election: healthcare justice, reproductive justice, economic justice, racial justice, immigrant justice, climate justice, and more. Now that the election is over, we must take a beat to take care of ourselves, then, be prepared to fight moving forward. Can you join us?
