A high-stakes special election for the New Hampshire state House that looked likely to take place less than two months from now won’t happen until mid-September, thanks to an unexpected development at Friday’s filing deadline.
Had only one candidate from each party entered the race for Rockingham County’s 1st District, a general election would have taken place on Aug 1. But because two Republicans entered the race, a primary will instead take place on that day, with a general on Sept. 19.
That primary will feature Jessica Sternberg, an official with the New Hampshire College Republicans who just graduated from the University of New Hampshire this spring, and Northwood Selectman Jim Guzofski, the lone official in his town to vote against holding a special election at all. Sternberg’s announcement a week ago was greeted with praise by a variety of GOP officials and operatives on Twitter, suggesting she’s the party favorite, though it’s possible they were unaware of Guzofski’s filing at the time, since he hasn’t so much as tweeted about his campaign.