New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu unveiled a congressional map proposal Tuesday that would likely create two competitive districts, a departure from what members of his own party want ahead of the midterm elections.
Sununu’s new map draws sharp contrast with the Legislature‘s proposal, which would have procured a safe Republican seat, by making much less drastic changes to the state’s lines. Like the lawmakers’ proposal, the governor’s map would likely create one Republican-leaning seat and one that favors Democrats, but candidates would be unable to rely on the district lines as sufficient for victory, as both districts would be reasonably competitive.
“This is certainly not the only solution, but hopefully will be helpful. It keeps our districts competitive, passes the smell test, and holds our incumbents accountable so that no one elected official is immune from challengers or constituent services,” he wrote in a letter to the state’s House speaker and Senate president. “There is still enough time in this process to deliver a map for our citizens that gets the job done.”
GRANITE STATE COUNTERS: NEW HAMPSHIRE SET FOR SHOWDOWN OVER CONGRESSIONAL MAPS
The governor has long dragged his feet on calls to release his own map, saying weeks ago he didn’t know whether his office would offer a map proposal. Last week, Sununu vetoed a map that both chambers of the Republican-led Legislature passed, lamenting the partisan nature of the proposal.
Haunted by a decade in which Democrats have dominated the state’s two congressional seats, Republican legislators had sought to cement a safe seat, even if that meant ceding one to Democrats. In the past eight elections, Republicans only won control of at least one of the seats on two occasions.
But Sununu was adamant that the state select a map that leaves both districts competitive, and his map could prove a palatable outcome to all parties — including Democrats, who have hinted at possible legal action over the Legislature’s map — given its comparably minor deviations from the status quo. The GOP lacks the number of votes needed to override a gubernatorial veto of its map.
In the 2020 election, then-candidate Joe Biden won the 1st District by 6 points. Under Sununu’s plan, Biden would have won by 4.4 points, according to Dave Wasserman, a national elections analyst for Cook Political Report. By contrast, the Republican state Legislature plan would’ve had former President Donald Trump winning by 2 points.
This afternoon @GovChrisSununu is making public a congressional redistricting map proposal he has shared with GOP legislative leaders & says he would sign #NHPolitics #NH01 #NH02 #WMUR pic.twitter.com/IQuru8LvDM
— Adam Sexton (@AdamSextonWMUR) March 22, 2022
Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, the incumbent in District 1, won his 2020 race 51.3% to 46.2%. Sununu’s map would almost certainly make Pappas’s race more competitive but would not guarantee a Republican victory by the line placement alone, in contrast to the Legislature’s map. Meanwhile, District 2, which is more favorable to Democrats, would become slightly more Democrat-leaning.
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Primaries in the Granite State are currently slated for September, giving state Republicans abundant time to work through their differences. It is unclear whether Senate President Chuck Morse and House Speaker Sherman Packard will accept Sununu’s proposal, but state Republicans have long rebuffed his monthlong calls to send him a less gerrymandered map.
New Hampshire is one of four remaining states without legally binding maps, alongside Louisiana, Florida, and Missouri, according to FiveThirtyEight’s redistricting tracker. Nearly a dozen other states are litigating disputes over their maps that could nix their newly implemented lines.
