CONCORD, N.H. — It’s been referred to as the most important office you’ve never heard of. By Thursday morning, results from all of the races were officially called, and Republicans maintained a 4-to-1 majority in the Executive Council.
Republican Incumbents Janet Stevens, Dave Wheeler, and Joseph Kenney won their districts, as Democrat Karen Liot Hill sailed to victory in the deeply blue District 2, according to the Associated Press.
Republican newcomer John Stephen won the race in District 4, with an 8.4 percentage point lead as votes were still being tallied.
The five elected executive councilors serve as a strong check on the governor’s power, with the ability to veto major hires, such as department heads. The council also approves appointments for judges and commissioners, in addition to all government contracts over $10,000.
Kenney, a Republican incumbent, prevailed in District 1, defeating Democratic challenger Emmett Soldati, a Somersworth café owner. Kenney had 55 percent of the vote, with 96 percent of the votes tallied, according to the AP.
District 1 encompasses a vast part of the state, including the rural northernmost region and stretching as far south as Durham.
District 2 is a Democratic stronghold and the one reliably blue seat on the council, combining the blue-leaning college towns around Dartmouth College, Plymouth State University, and Keene State College. Democrat Cinde Warmington, the incumbent in this district, decided not to run for reelection, instead seeking her party’s nomination in the gubernatorial race, which she lost to Craig.
Democrat Karen Liot Hill won the district in a race that was at 2:51 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. With about 93 percent of the vote tallied, Liot Hill carried about 57.2 percent of the vote defeating Republican Kim Strathdee of Plymouth by over 14 points. Liot Hill has also served on the Lebanon City Council, and she served as mayor from 2008 to 2009.
In District 3, incumbent Republican Stevens of Rye won the contest, which was called in her favor at 1:55 a.m. With 98 percent of votes tallied, she received 55 percent of the vote, a ten point lead over her Democratic challenger Jon Morgan, a former state senator who worked as a contractor for the Department of Defense and now works for a cybersecurity startup.
Stevens has represented the district, which covers the southeastern corner of New Hampshire’s Seacoast, since 2021. This will be her third term.
When Executive Councilor and Manchester Republican Theodore L. Gatsas announced his retirement in the spring, District 4 became an open race, with a flood of contenders vying for the seat. Results were called in favor of the Republican in this race on Thursday. Stephen defeated Democratic challenger James O’Connell, who currently serves on the Manchester Board of School Committee.
Stephen is an attorney who founded a management consulting firm and previously worked as the commissioner of New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services from 2003 to 2007.
In District 5, which stretches along much of New Hampshire’s southern border with Massachusetts and includes most of Hillsborough County and a handful of communities in Cheshire County, Wheeler carried 53.4 percent of the vote with 98 percent tallied. That was enough to secure a victory against his Democratic challenger Melanie Levesque, a former state senator, according to the AP.
The Executive Council has made headlines in recent years for rejecting funding for family planning over concerns it would indirectly subsidize abortion. Protecting reproductive rights has been a key issue Craig and other Democrats have campaigned on this cycle.
“I would say that the Executive Council matters almost as much as the governor’s race when you’re talking about long-term changes in policy in New Hampshire,” said Anna Brown, executive director of Citizens Count, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks the New Hampshire Legislature.
A Republican majority in the Executive Council is likely because of how the districts have been drawn to favor Republican candidates.
Councilors serve two-year terms, and in 2023 they were paid $18,699, according to Transparent NH.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.