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Democrat Overturns Election Result in Recount, Beats Republican by One Vote

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


A seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives has flipped from Republican to Democrat after a recount.

After the recount, Democrat Maxine Mosley defeated her Republican opponent Larry Gagne by one vote in the race for the Hillsborough County House District 16 seat in Manchester. Mosley won the seat with 1,799 votes to Gagne’s 1,798. Before the recount, Gagne led Mosley by 23 votes.

“Shocker in Manchester’s Ward 6 New Hampshire House of Representative race – after she congratulated Gagne, there was still counting left and it turns out Maxine Mosley won by a single vote. A flip for the Democrats,” wrote Adam Sexton, the political director for Manchester news outlet WMUR, as he provided updates on the race.

Nathaniel Rakich, a senior election analyst at election tracker Five Thirty-Eight, also tweeted about the shocking turn of events in the race.

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“Wow! Democrats erased a 23-vote deficit in a recount to win this NH House seat by ONE vote,” he tweeted. “They need to do the same in 3 more seats to win a majority. I am honestly not sure what happens if the NH House ties 200-200. It has never happened before, in my knowledge.”

Gagne said he was surprised with the result.

“It’s very unusual, especially in Manchester with the machines we have, to make up 24 votes, we were winning by 23. I don’t know what happened,” he said.

Mosley spoke about the shocking turn of events, telling Newsweek that she had originally thought she was going to lose the race.

“I was truly overwhelmed by the result of the recount. A swing of more than nine votes is rare in New Hampshire so this result is historic! I am also very grateful for the voters who have shown their faith me, as a first-time candidate, to represent them,” she said.

She also reiterated that Gagne was gracious in defeat.

“Directly following the recount, Mr. Gagne did approach me, and we shook hands as he congratulated me. He did tell me that he would not be requesting a challenge to the outcome,” Mosley said.

“He was very gracious. We have always had a cordial relationship over many years, and I appreciate his service to our community.

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“I would expect that the Republican Party will challenge the outcome, even though Mr. Gagne indicated that he would not. If a challenge is filed, it will be heard by the Election Commission on November 28th.”

“I am so appreciative of all of the people that worked with me throughout this campaign to make sure that the voters heard my messages about supporting public education, a woman’s right to choose, equity, and other pressing issues here in New Hampshire,” Mosely said.

“I did not expect the recount to overturn the results but entered into this process for two reasons: One, to observe the process in person, and two, to make sure that the people that worked with me and voted for me, had the most accurate outcome information. I will say strongly that this race clearly affirms that each-and-every vote does count and that our obligation to vote is foundational for our democracy,” the Democrat added.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley released a statement praising Mosley and celebrating the outcome of the recount.

“We are ecstatic to learn of Democratic candidate Maxine Mosley’s win in Manchester Ward 6 following today’s recount,” the statement said. “With today being just the first day of several extremely tight races, we look forward to the remaining recounts.

“We appreciate the professionalism of the staff at the Secretary of State’s office and the State Archives for their work in this process, and to our recount team on the ground, whose careful review of ballots aided in today’s result.”

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