NH Senate Primary Election 2022 – Cannabis Reform Voter’s Guide
NH Senate Primary Elections — September 13, 2022
As we head into the 2022 election season, New Hampshire remains an island of prohibition in New England. Despite the fact that approximately 74% of New Hampshire voters support legalization, the NH Senate has continued to be an obstacle in passing any sort of comprehensive, common-sense cannabis policy reform. Fortunately, NH voters have the opportunity to shift the make up of the Senate in the upcoming primary and general elections.
As such, we have compiled this informative guide to educate New Hampshire voters on the expressed views and voting records of senate candidates on cannabis-related policy reforms.
While all 24 Senate seats are up for grabs in November’s general election, there are 11 contested primaries for voters to decide upon during the NH Primary Election on Tuesday, September 13.
Primaries are open in New Hampshire, so voter’s can choose to vote in any party’s primary, regardless of political party registration.
Due to recent redistricting, your state Senate district may have changed, so please be sure to check your district information and view a sample ballot on Ballotpedia by entering in your registered voting address.
NOTE: If you are new to the state, or have moved to a new district within the state, please reference these FAQs from Citizens Count to make sure you are ready to vote on September 13.
Color key for candidate’s expressed views or voting history on cannabis reform:
- Green = supports cannabis reform
- Orange = unknown or less supportive of cannabis reform
- Red = opposed to cannabis reform
District 2 (Open Seat – Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Tim Lang (R) – supports cannabis reform
David Devoy II (R) — supports cannabis reform
Former Rep. John Plumer (R) — views on cannabis reform unknown
*Winner will face former Rep. Kate Miller (D) in the general election in November
Represents: Portions of Belknap, Grafton and Merrimack counties, including the following cities and towns: Ashland, Belmont, Campton, Center Harbor, Gilford, Holderness, Laconia (Wards 1-6), Meredith, New Hampton, Sanbornton, Sandwich, and Thornton.
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District 3 (Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Sen. Jeb Bradley (R) — Incumbent; does not support cannabis reform
Nancy Cunning (R) — Challenger; supports cannabis reform
*Winner will face Rep. William Marsh (D) in the general election in November
- Voted yes on HB 1598; voted no on a 2019 cannabis bill
Represents: All of Carroll County and portions of Grafton and Strafford Counties, including the following cities and towns: Albany, Bartlett, Bean’s Grant, Bean’s Purchase, Brookfield, Chandler’s Pur., Chatham, Conway, Crawford’s Pur., Cutt’s Grant, Eaton, Effingham, Freedom, Green’s Grant, Hadley’s Purchase, Hale’s Location, Hart’s Location, Jackson, Lincoln, Livermore, Madison, Martin’s Location, Middleton, Milton, Moultonborough, Ossipee, Pinkham’s Grant, Sargent’s Purchase, Tamworth, Thompson & Mes’s Purchase, Tuftonboro, Wakefield, Waterville Valley, and Wolfeboro.
District 7 (Open Seat – Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Thomas Dunne Jr. (R) — views on cannabis reform unknown
Former Sen. Dan Innis (R) — generally supportive of cannabis reform with some restrictions (related to public health)
*Winner will face Richard Lobban (D) in the general election in November
Represents: Portions of Belknap and Merrimack Counties, including the following cities and towns: Alexandria, Andover, Boscawen, Bradford, Bridgewater, Bristol, Danbury, Franklin (Wards 1-3), Goshen, Grafton, Hebron, Henniker, Hill, Hillsborough, Newbury, Orange, Salisbury, Sutton, Tilton, Warner, Webster, and Wilmot.
District 10 (Open Seat – Contested Democratic & Republican Primaries)
Candidates (Democratic Primary):
Rep. Donovan Fenton (D) — supports cannabis reform
Bobby Williams (D) — views on cannabis reform unknown
Candidates (Republican Primary):
Ian Freeman (R) — supports cannabis reform
Sly Karasinski (R) — does not support cannabis reform
*Winner from each primary will face off in the general election in November.
Represents: Portions of Cheshire County, including the following cities and towns: Alstead, Chesterfield, Dublin, Hancock, Harrisville, Keene (Wards 1-5), Marlborough, Nelson, Peterborough, Roxbury, Sullivan, Surry, Swanzey, Walpole, and Westmoreland.
District 11 (Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Sen. Gary Daniels (R) — Incumbent; does not support cannabis reform
John Frechette (R) — Challenger; views on cannabis reform unknown
*Winner will face former Sen. Shannon Chandley (D) in the general election in November
- Appears to oppose even modest cannabis reform
Represents: Portions of Hillsborough County, including the following cities and towns: Amherst, Merrimack, Milford, and Wilton.
District 13 (Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Stephen Scaer (R) — Challenger; views on cannabis reform unknown
Daniel Paul (R) — Challenger; views on cannabis reform unknown
*Winner will face Sen. Cindy Rosenwald (D) in the general election in November
- Incumbent; supports cannabis reform
Represents: Nashua (Wards 3,4,6,7,8,9) in Hillsborough County.
District 16 (Open Seat – Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Rep. Michael Yakubovich (R) — supports cannabis reform
Rep. Barbara Griffin (R) — does not support cannabis reform
*There is no Democratic candidate running in the general election, so this primary will determine the senator for District 16.
Represents: Portions of Hillsborough, Merrimack and Rockingham Counties, including the following cities and towns: Candia, Goffstown, Hooksett, Manchester (Ward 1), and Raymond.
District 17 (Open Seat – Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Rep. Howard Pearl (R) — supports cannabis reform
Scott Bryer (R) — supports some cannabis reform (appears to prefer state model vs private retail)
*Winner will face Christine Tappan (D) in the general election in November
- Views on cannabis reform unknown
Represents: Portions of Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford Counties, including the following cities and towns: Allenstown, Barnstead, Canterbury, Chichester, Deerfield, Epsom, Loudon, Northfield, Northwood, Nottingham, Pembroke, and Pittsfield.
District 18 (Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Former Rep. George Lambert (R) — Challenger; supports cannabis reform
Former Rep. Ross Terrio (R) — Challenger; supports cannabis reform
*Winner will face Sen. Donna Soucey (D) in the general election in November
- Incumbent; generally does not support cannabis reform
Represents: Portions of Hillsborough County, including the following cities and towns: Litchfield and Manchester (Wards 5-9).
District 22 (Open Seat – Contested Republican Primary)
Candidates:
Rep. Daryl Abbas (R) — sponsored HB 1598; supports some cannabis reform
Rep. Peter Torosian (R) — does not support cannabis reform
*Winner will face Wayne Haubner (D) in the general election in November
- Views on cannabis reform unknown
Represents: Portions of Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties, including the following cities and towns: Atkinson, Pelham, Plaistow and Salem.
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Disclaimer: Due to election laws we do not officially endorse political candidates or incumbent legislators. This content should not be misconstrued as an official endorsement.
