Here’s something you don’t hear very often — or, actually, ever: national Democrats crowing about their big success in Wolfeboro, N.H. In case you weren’t eagerly awaiting the election returns this week, here’s a recap.
■ What happened? On Tuesday evening, a Democrat named Edie DesMarais won a special election for an open seat in the New Hampshire Legislature in an extremely Republican district.
■ Why does this matter? Democrats are delighted with the win, spinning it as the first elected office in the country to flip from red to blue since Donald Trump was elected president. If they’re hoping for a trend, it needs to start somewhere. “We cannot underscore how big a victory this is,” the New Hampshire Democrats wrote in a quick fund-raising letter Wednesday.
■ How big a deal is it? On one hand, consider this: The legislative district DesMarais will represent has not elected a Democrat for more than 100 years. On the other hand, New Hampshire House districts are minuscule in the grand scheme of things. Tuesday night’s tally: DesMarais edged Republican Matthew J. Planche, 811-755, according to unofficial returns.
Also, in a second special election in New Hampshire this week, Republicans held onto a House seat in the Manchester area. In New Hampshire, at least, it’s not a trend quite yet.
■ How Republican is Wolfeboro, anyway? The town — perhaps best known as Mitt Romney’s vacation home — has traditionally had among the highest percentage of Republican voters in the state. Wolfeboro voted for Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016. It voted for Mitt Romney (bigly!) over Barack Obama in 2012, John McCain over Obama in 2008, George W. Bush over John Kerry in 2004, Bush over Al Gore in 2000 — you get the idea.
Felice Belman can be reached at felice.belman@globe.com.