Contested Democratic Primary for State Representative for Nottingham & Northwood

Four Democratic candidates are running for the three seats for the Nottingham/Northwood legislative district.

• Hal Rafter (incumbent)
• Charlotte Fyfe
• Keith McGuigan
• Pamela Sanderson

Until Ben Bartlett was forced to resign his seat, the Republicans held all three State Representative seats for Nottingham and Northwood. Democrat Hal Rafter pried away one of these seats in a 2023 special election to replace Bartlett. The loser of that election, James Guzofski, will be one of three Republicans facing off against the Democrats in November, only one of whom will be an incumbent - Paul Tudor, who won in a close 2022 election. So, this election represents a good opportunity for the Democrats to pick up one or two seats.

Here are the issues where the candidates’ positions differ.

Taxes

• Fyfe is in favor of the state having a capital gains tax. Rafter and McGuigan are open to the idea. Sanderson is undecided.
• Rafter is opposed to having a sales tax. Fyfe thinks there should be a 5% sales tax on luxury goods. McGuigan is open to having a sales tax. Sanderson is undecided.
• All but McGuigan are opposed to having a state income tax.
• Rafter is opposed to decreasing taxes on businesses. His opponents are uncertain.

Gun Control

• Fyfe is in favor of stricter gun control laws. Rafter and Sanderson are undecided.

Voting

• Rafter and McGuigan are against conditional affidavit ballots for new voters. Fyfe and Sanderson are for them.

Marijuana

• All are in favor of marijuana legalization, but they differ on the details. Rafter is opposed to state-run stores whereas his opponents are undecided about this distribution channel. All approve home-growing and private sales.

Interstate Travel Protections for Controversial Procedures

• Rafter, Fyfe, and McGuigain are in favor of adding legal protections for residents of other states who travel to NH for health care related to abortion or gender transition. Sanderson is undecided.

Abortion

• Fyfe and McGuigan are in favor of repealing the ban on abortions after 24 weeks. Rafter and Sanderson are undecided.

Energy

• Rafter and Fyfe are for expanding net metering opportunities. McGuigan and Sanderson are undecided.

Minimum Wage

• All but McGuigan are in favor of increasing the minimum wage.

Photo byMick HauptonUnsplash