Democratic Candidates Rally Constituents Just One Day Before the Election

By ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org

MANCHESTER — With just one day before the election, several Democratic candidates rallied about 50 canvassing volunteers in Manchester and encouraged them to help roll out another blue wave as the clock continues to tick.

Volunteer Rick Glatz, is feeling cautiously optimistic about the election.

“This feels like 2006 in a lot of ways. 2006 was kind of a blue wave, too (and) you could see the crescendo building as the weeks went on… I mean, (Sen.) Jeanne Shaheen was the beginning, but 2006 was a consolidation that the Democrats definitely are a presence in the state,” Glatz said.

People gathered in Senatorial candidate Congressman Chris Pappas’ field office in Manchester at 2 p.m. on Monday. Also in attendance were Democrats Sen. Jeanne Shaheen; Sen. Maggie Hassan; Stefany Shaheen, congressional candidate for House District 1; Congressional Candidates for House District 2 Rep. Maggie Goodlander, and candidate for Governor Cinde Warmington.

House Democratic Leader Rep. Alexis Simpson, (D-Exeter,) started by saying a simple ‘thank you’ to the audience of voters for all the work they’ve done up until this point.

“We are all on the same team fighting from the bottom of the ticket to the top, because we all know that Granite Staters are struggling, and we know that in Concord the Democrats have been trying to make life better for Granite Staters, and at every turn we have been stopped. We have been stopped by Free State extremists like (House Majority Leader) Jason Osborne (R-Auburn), who has taken control over House Republican leadership, and he’s following Trump’s playbook,” Simpson said.

Osborne did not respond for comment.

Warmington said Granite Staters can make sure Kelly Ayotte is a one-term governor. 

“The same way (Sen.) Maggie Hassan made her a one-term senator,” Warmington said.

Between now and after 8 p.m. on Tuesday when the votes are counted, every single conversation will make a difference in the race, Warmington said.

Warmington told the volunteers they need to put in the work to make the anticipated “blue wave” happen. 

“Maybe there is, but we make the waves. You are the waves,” Warmington said. “Every time you knock on a door, every conversation you have, every phone call you make in the next 29 hours, you make the wave,” she said.

On Sunday night, the last election poll for 2026 by UNH Survey Center showed that Democrats hold leads in the races for Executive Council, the State Senate, and State House. Pappas continues to lead Republican John E. Sununu in the race for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire; Incumbent Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-CD2) holds a comfortable lead over Republican challenger Lily Tang Williams in New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District, while Democrat Stefany Shaheen holds a lead over Republican Anthony DiLorenzo in the open CD1.

Incumbent Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte is statistically tied with Warmington, though Ayotte is the more personally popular of the two and most expect her to win re-election, according to the poll.

106 years ago Monday women in New Hampshire voted for the very first time, Goodlander said. On the same day 243 years ago, General George Washington sat down to write his farewell orders to the Continental Army, she said.

“He reminded the patriots who won our independence that they had come from every corner of this new nation. They had been from such different places (and) fought such different things but came together in one cause, and to this day I believe that people who love America can come together to change America, and that’s exactly what’s happening in this room,” Goodlander said. “We’re going to take this country back because of the work you’re putting in today.”

Hassan was knocking on doors yesterday morning and got a good response from the public, but said a lot of people still don’t know much about Question 2 on the ballot. That proposal caps local school property taxes to the rate of inflation plus new construction and would cap School Administration Unit (SAU) costs to 6 percent of a district’s total school budget without capital bond costs in the prior year counting in both instances.

Hassan said it’s a critical vote because if it passes, it takes away local control and compromises public education.

“Both are just the opposite of what New Hampshire has always stood for.”

President Donald Trump took office for his second term just over two years ago, and it’s been clear every single day that he’s the wrong man for the office, Hassan said.

“This is a man who does not understand what America is; he doesn’t understand that everyday Americans and Granite Staters aren’t as selfish as he is,” she said. “He doesn’t understand that we don’t want him building monuments for himself, but he could be helping us build houses that people can afford. His corruption is directly tied to the increase in cost; to the fact that people can’t afford their health insurance, to the fact that it’s going to be really hard to fill up our oil tanks as well. Since the start of the Iran war, Americans have paid $101 billion more for gas.”

Stefany Shaheen told the volunteers help is on the way for everyonw tired of Trump’s corruption and skyrocketing costs. She urged them to hold on one more day.

“Because we are the calvary, and we are coming,” Shaheen said.

Republicans know what’s at stake in this election, Stefany Shaheen said. That’s why trillionaire Elon Musk poured $400 million into the race that’s seen “disgusting” ads against Pappas.

Musk’s company, Tesla, made about $5.7 billion in income last year, but paid nothing in income taxes, Stefany Shaheen said.

“So, look, we know they want to grift and continue the corruption (and) we’re the calvary, and we’re going to put them out of work. So, we have just got to keep our heads down one more day until the polls close. Every time you feel like you’re too tired, call one more person. If you can’t get to the next four doors, knock on one more; because that’s the difference between victory tomorrow night and the cavalry arriving,” she said.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said when she was running against Republican John Sununu for a seat in the Senate back in 2008, she kept hearing how unresponsive he was to constituents.

“I called John Sununu’s office and nobody ever called me back,” she remembers hearing from voters. “Well, I can tell you Chris Pappas is going to call you back.”

The country cannot afford two more years heading in Trump’s direction, and Pappas will help New Hampshire get back on the right track.

Pappas said Americans are paying the price for the way their economy has been rigged with a special interest in the billionaire class. People are seeing higher and higher costs every day for everything they need, but Trump is calling it the “golden age of America,” Pappas said.

“[If you’re ] living on the west side of Manchester, or you’re up in the North Country, or you’re putting your kids through school in Southeastern New Hampshire, or you’re retiring in the Monadnock region, it certainly doesn’t feel like a ‘golden age,’” Pappas said.

Tuesday’s election is a course-correction for America, Pappas said.

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