NASHUA, N.H. – Incumbent Mayor Jim Donchess secured another four-year term leading New Hampshire’s second-largest city, defeating County Commissioner Michael Soucy 8,097 to 7,446 in the first competitive race in eight years, according to unofficial results.
Also Tuesday, unofficial results show that Democrat Paige Beauchemin beat Republican David Narkunas in a special election to fill the Nashua Ward 4 seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a razor-thin advantage. Beauchemin replaced Democrat David Cote, who served in the House for more than 40 years and resigned in July, as persistent health concerns prevented him from participating in person.
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Including Beauchemin, there are now 197 Democrats, 198 Republicans, and 3 Independents, according to the latest roster from the New Hampshire House Clerk.
Beauchemin, a registered nurse, promised voters she would push for abortion rights, paid parental leave, affordable child care, and protect LGBTQ rights in a district that has consistently elected Democrats.
“It’s important to know that I, and my daughter, and anybody else, have choice over our body,” she said, explaining why abortion is a central part of her platform. She thanked voters for electing her and said she would work to represent working class people and especially parents.
She said Nashua Ward 4 has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the entire state. Beauchemin doesn’t speak Spanish, but she said she had all of her campaign materials translated into Spanish, and going forward wants to translate all of her materials online.
Andres Tras, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, said he voted for her. He said it was hard to understand the voting instructions and said he preferred Democrats because “Republicans are the rich person’s party.”
Narkunas, an intellectual property lawyer currently working at Home Depot, said it was a “David and Goliath kind of battle” in the deep blue district. Though he lost this race, he compared himself to David, who won the fabled competition, and said he’s undeterred and plans to run again during regular State House elections in a year.
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While the mayoral race is nonpartisan, Donchess is a registered Democrat, and Soucy is the Republican Hillsborough County Commissioner who received endorsements from Governor Chris Sununu, the state’s top Republican, and Kelly Ayotte, who is running as a Republican candidate for governor when Sununu’s term expires.
The race highlighted the candidates’ contrasting views on everything from how Main Street should look, to affordable housing and whether the city should participate in a commuter rail system. Donchess has touted his accomplishments, like bringing the Nashua Center for the Performing Arts to New Hampshire’s second largest city, while Soucy promised to complete a top-down investigation into the city’s financial involvement with the center.
Many Nashua voters already have a clear picture of Donchess’ leadership in action. This will be his third consecutive term as mayor, following a two-term stint from 1984 to 1992.
That didn’t earn him the vote of Heather Larsen, who said she voted for Soucy because she wanted a change in leadership. She said Soucy would be more fiscally responsible than Donchess.
Seth Mandell, a Nashua voter and special educator, praised Donchess. Mandell said he’s saving money on his electric bill because the city joined the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire under Donchess’ leadership.
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“We get to save some money on electric bills by being part of the collective, so I thought that was pretty good,” said Lisa Cherkaski, his wife.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.