A Republican candidate for New Hampshire’s state legislature was declared winner of his race, but a recount flipped the script. His Democratic opponent was declared the winner of the race by a margin of one vote.
“Shocker in Manchester’s Ward 6 @NHHouseofReps race — after she congratulated Gagne, there was still counting left & it turns out Maxine Mosley won by a single vote,” WMUR TV reporter Adam Sexton commented in a Twitter post. “A flip for the Democrats.”
The Conservative Brief further reported:
A seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives has flipped from Republican to Democrat after a recount.
After the recount, Democrat Maxine Mosley defeated her Republican opponent Larry Gagne by one vote in the race for the Hillsborough County House District 16 seat in Manchester. Mosley won the seat with 1,799 votes to Gagne’s 1,798. Before the recount, Gagne led Mosley by 23 votes.
“Shocker in Manchester’s Ward 6 New Hampshire House of Representative race – after she congratulated Gagne, there was still counting left and it turns out Maxine Mosley won by a single vote. A flip for the Democrats,” wrote Adam Sexton, the political director for Manchester news outlet WMUR, as he provided updates on the race.
Nathaniel Rakich, a senior election analyst at election tracker Five Thirty-Eight, also tweeted about the shocking turn of events in the race.
“Wow! Democrats erased a 23-vote deficit in a recount to win this NH House seat by ONE vote,” he tweeted. “They need to do the same in 3 more seats to win a majority. I am honestly not sure what happens if the NH House ties 200-200. It has never happened before, in my knowledge.”
Gagne said he was surprised with the result.
“It’s very unusual, especially in Manchester with the machines we have, to make up 24 votes, we were winning by 23. I don’t know what happened,” he said.
Mosley spoke about the shocking turn of events, telling Newsweek that she had originally thought she was going to lose the race.
“I was truly overwhelmed by the result of the recount. A swing of more than nine votes is rare in New Hampshire so this result is historic! I am also very grateful for the voters who have shown their faith me, as a first-time candidate, to represent them,” she said.
She also reiterated that Gagne was gracious in defeat.
“Directly following the recount, Mr. Gagne did approach me, and we shook hands as he congratulated me. He did tell me that he would not be requesting a challenge to the outcome,” Mosley said.
“He was very gracious. We have always had a cordial relationship over many years, and I appreciate his service to our community.
The result is further proof of the axiom that every vote counts.
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