Republican majorities in the State House remain as red as ever, and in some cases, more so.

In the 24-member state Senate, Republicans were poised to pick up two seats, elevating their majority to 16-8.

Locally, Daniel Innis of Bradford fought off a challenge from political newcomer Stu Green of Andover for the Senate seat in District 7, which includes the towns of Boscawen, Henniker, Newbury, Salisbury, Sutton, Warner, Webster, and Wilmot.

Similarly, incumbent Republican Ruth Ward secured a fifth term representing Senate District 8, defeating Democratic challenger David Trumble. With ballots still being counted Wednesday afternoon, Ward held a 57% lead to Trumble’s 42%.

And in District 17, Republican incumbent Howard Pearl beat Democratic challenger Kelly Roberts.

Former Senate President Donna Soucy of Manchester was expected to lose to Republican Victoria Sullivan, but the race was separated by less than 500 votes (10,491 to 9,995) late Wednesday afternoon. 

Although tallies are still being finalized in a number of state House of Representative races, preliminary results indicate that 222 of the 400 delegates will be Republican compared to 178 Democrats, the New Hampshire House Clerk said Wednesday afternoon. The GOP advantage in the current House is much narrower: 197-191 with 11 vacancies.

The Executive Council kept its 4-1 advantage for the GOP.

Combined with Kellly Ayotte’s victory in the gubernatorial race, the election results mean New Hampshire Republicans will maintain a trifecta, growing their majorities in the Senate and House.

The in-state conservative sweep contrasts with wins for Democrat incumbent Chris Pappas and newcomer Maggie Goodlander in congressional districts 1 and 2, respectively. New Hampshire will maintain a total federal/local split politically, with Republicans in power in Concord and an all-Democrat delegation in Washington.

State Senator Pearl, of Loudon, said he wants to focus on lowering property taxes, supporting law enforcement, and protecting constitutional rights during his next term. He also wants to further secure the border and work to combat the fentanyl crisis.

“I’m humbled and appreciative of the support I received and the help from volunteers across District 17.  I’m optimistic about New Hampshire’s future and our ability to strengthen our state’s economy,” Pearl said.

Pearl lives in Loudon, where he works as a sixth-generation family farmer.  The district includes Allenstown, Barnstead, Canterbury, Chichester, Deerfield, Epsom, Loudon, Northfield, Northwood, Nottingham, Pembroke, and Pittsfield.

“As a state senator, and formerly as a state representative, I have always had an open door and I maintain a dialogue with community leaders in District 17,” Pearl said. “I will continue to listen to my constituents and I will do what’s best for the communities I represent.”

In District 7, Innis, a marketing professor and former dean at the University of New Hampshire, cruised to victory in a race that had been targeted by both parties but wound up not being close. Innis was up 55% to 45% over his opponent, a retired Navy commander, with 92% of votes reported.

Innis, who served a Senate term in a Seacoast district, before moving to Bradford in 2022, focused his campaign on taxes, claiming that Green would have raised them.

Innis did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Green, a self-described “centrist”, had entered the race to “repair our political fabric.”

“I spent a good six months of my life trying to preserve democracy and I failed,” Green said Wednesday.

Ward said she is ready to keep tackling issues at the State House. 

“School funding needs to be taken care of and we need to do something about the cost of living with inflation, cost of gas and everything else. It's tough on a lot of families,” she said.

Ward noted she will continue to work with across both aisles.

“We work collaboratively, we discuss things,” said Ward. “On most of the committees, we have Republicans and Democrats, so it's a good, healthy discussion back and forth.”

However, she has no apologies for the outcome of the election.

"I have spoken with a lot of people, and I think in the end, it turned out right,” Ward said.

Staff writers Sruthi Gopalakrishnan and Jeremey Margolis contributed to this report.