Advertisement Updated: Recount called off; Democrat flips NH House seat in 2-1 GOP district Kari Lerner of Chester defeats former Rep. James Headd of Auburn Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Updated Tuesday evening, Oct. 3:Democrat Kari Lerner's win in the Rockingham County District 4 New Hampshire House special election was left intact Tuesday when her Republican opponent called off a recount after votes in one of three towns in the district were counted.Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said that after the results from the town of Sandown were recounted, Republican James Headd withdrew his recount request and the votes from Auburn and Chester were not recounted.Scanlan said that Headd lost one vote in the Sandown recount and Libertarian James Jarvis picked up a vote. Lerner's total was unchanged.Headd's decision to call off the recount after Sandown was counted left the original vote count as the official final result, Scanlan said. Lerner received 901 votes, while Headd received 862 votes and Jarvis received 41 votes.(Our earlier report from Sept. 26 follows.)Democrat Kari Lerner of Chester pulled off a surprising upset win in a Rockingham County special New Hampshire House election Tuesday, defeating Republican former state Rep. James Headd of Auburn by 39 votes in a district in which Republicans have a 2-1 advantage in registrations.Lerner, a real estate associate, received 901 votes, or 50.6 percent, compared to 862 votes, or 48.4 percent, for Headd, and 41, or less than 1 percent, for Libertarian James Jarvis of Sandown.The final unofficial tally came in after Sandown officials had to count the names on the checklist three times to ensure they matched the checked in voters, according to state Republican Party staffer Joseph Sweeney.In unofficial town-by-town returns, Headd defeated Lerner in Auburn, 323-297, but Lerner won in Chester, 310-303. Sandown also went to Lerner, 294-236, sealing her victory.It was the third time since May that Democrats flipped a House seat in a special election. Edith DesMarais won in heavily Republican Wolfeboro on May 23. Charlie St. Clair won in Laconia-Belmont on Sept. 12.Also, on July 25, Democrat Kevin Cavanaugh defeated Republican former state Sen. David Boutin in a special state Senate election in heavily Republican District 16.Rockingham County District 4 is the fourth most Republican House district in the state, according to the state Democratic Party. The Washington-based Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said it is a district in which President Donald Trump prevailed by 23 percentage points in November.The DLCC said the Lerner win was the eighth Democratic flip of previously Republican seats in state legislative races across the country since November.“There's something happening in this state and all across this country when the deepest red districts in New Hampshire are consistently turning royal blue,” state Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley said. “This, our hardest-won victory so far, is the latest proof that voters are showing up when it matters to reject the dangerous and divisive agenda of Donald Trump and Chris Sununu.”House Democratic Leader Steve Shurtleff said: "Rep.-elect Lerner deserves enormous credit and congratulations for this great victory tonight. Our Democratic family is growing bigger by the week, and Kari Lerner is another great addition. I know she'll work hard and stand up for Democratic values at the State House on behalf of the people of Auburn, Chester and Sandown."Headd previously served five terms in the House, from 2002-2012. The district at that time was configured differently and was composed of Auburn and Londonderry. The Tuesday special election was held to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Republican Rep. William Polewarczyk in May. According to the latest checklist figures provided by the secretary of state’s office, Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 2,600 voters in the district. Undeclared voters make up 42.6 percent of the district, while 39.7 percent of the voters in the district are Republicans and 19.3 percent are Democrats.Lerner's victory will shrink the Republican majority in the House to 220, with 172 Democrats and three Libertarians.Previous special electionsIn previous special legislative elections, Democrat DesMarais won an upset victory in the Republican town of Wolfeboro on May 23. Also that day, Republican Mark McLean won in a mostly Republican district that includes Manchester Wards 8 and 9 and the town of Litchfield.Democrat Kris Schultz won a House seat on July 18 in heavily Democratic Concord Ward 9.On July 25, Cavanaugh upset Republican Boutin in a state Senate special election in Republican-leaning District 16. It was not a flip, however, because the seat had been previously held by Democratic Sen. Scott McGilvray, who died in March.On Sept. 5, Republican Vincent Paul Migliore defeated Democrat Josh Adjutant in Grafton County House District 9, which is composed of Bridgewater, Bristol, Grafton and Alexandria.And on Sept. 12, Democrats picked up a House seat when St. Clair defeated Republican Steven Whalley in Belknap County District 9, composed of Laconia and Belmont.