CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire Democrats captured majorities in both the state House and Senate in the Nov. 3 election, and unofficial returns show them winning or leading every Executive Council race. The results break Republican control of state government even as Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte won a second term.

Ayotte beat Democrat Cinde Warmington by roughly 51% to 47%, narrower than her 54%-44% win in 2024, according to the Concord Monitor. Warmington carried Manchester and Ayotte's hometown of Nashua, the Monitor reported. The Boston Globe reported that The Associated Press did not call the race until 12:42 a.m. on Nov. 4.

The size of the new Democratic majorities is not settled, and all counts are unofficial. The Globe reported that Democrats won a supermajority in the 400-seat House. The Monitor said projections put Democrats in the low 290s there and described them as close to veto-proof control of both chambers, with projections showing 15 of the 24 Senate seats going Democratic.

House Speaker Sherman Packard, a Londonderry Republican seeking a 19th term, finished 10th in a seven-seat district where Democrats took six seats, the Monitor reported. "The voters have spoken, and I respect their decision," Packard said in a statement. Rep. Ross Berry, who led the school tax cap ballot effort, also lost, the Monitor reported. In the Senate, Democrat Kurt Webber unseated Sen. Tim Lang of Sanbornton, and Democrat Shannon Chandley reclaimed the District 11 seat she lost to Tim McGough two years before, according to the Monitor.

Republicans have long held a 4-1 edge on the Executive Council, which votes on state contracts and the governor's nominees, including Supreme Court justices, the Globe reported. The Monitor said Democrats ousted Republican councilors John Stephen and Dave Wheeler and led in two other contested races. New councilors take office in January, and the Globe noted Ayotte could fill a Supreme Court vacancy before then.

"People are clearly sending a very strong message," Councilor Karen Liot Hill, the lone Democrat on the current council, told the Globe. Former state Republican Party Chairman Chris Ager told the Monitor, "It seems like it was more of a Washington-based vote than a New Hampshire-based vote."