NH Legislature 2026

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House District Rockingham 27

Seacoast and Strafford · 1 seat · Portsmouth Ward 4

Forecast

1.0 expected Democratic seat of 1
Held today
1 D, 0 R
On the ballot
1 Democrat, 0 Republicans for 1 seat — everyone on the ballot wins
District party margin
D+26.1 (90% range D+26.1 to D+26.1)
Chance Democrats gain seats here
0%
Chance Democrats lose seats here
0%
Rating (seat share)
Safe D

Seat split distribution

Candidates

CandidatePartyWin chance
Gerry Ward (incumbent)D100%

How the forecast was built

Statewide generic legislative margin (environment)D+2.9
+ District partisan lean+23.2
= Expected party margin (mean Democratic candidate vs mean Republican candidate)D+26.1

Each candidate's share is the party's share plus 2.5 points if an incumbent, plus a candidate-specific draw (SD 3.5 points, estimated from how far same-party candidates finished apart in 2022 and 2024). The district margin itself carries statewide, regional and district error (district SD 5.0 pts). The top 1 by share win. Independents are placed with the weaker major party minus a 6.0-point penalty.

Inputs

Partisan lean (exact by town)

RaceDistrictStatewideLeanWeight
2024 PresidentD+25.6D+2.8+22.80.4
2024 GovernorD+10.8R+9.5+20.40.15
2022 U.S. SenateD+32.0D+9.3+22.60.2
2022 GovernorD+5.0R+15.8+20.80.1
2020 PresidentD+34.8D+7.4+27.50.15

Last House result (2024): party margin D+23.7 vs a statewide legislative environment of R+2.6, incumbency removed (-2.5) → lean +23.9, blended at 30%.

Past results in this district

2024 — D 1, R 0 of 1 · party margin D+23.7

D Gerald W.R. Ward (i)1,538✓
R Diane D. Bitter948

2022 — D 1, R 0 of 1 · party margin D+26.1

D Ward (i)1,230✓
R Forbes720