By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – It was a busy week at the Secretary of State’s office in the State House as the filing period has opened for all elected state offices.
There are many people who have already signed up to run as the cumulative Democratic and Republican lists as of Friday here show: https://www.sos.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt561/files/documents/2024-06/cumulative-filings-6.6.24.pdf
State Representative candidates sign up at their local clerk’s offices. State Senate candidates file directly with the Secretary of State at the State House in Concord.
The 10-day filing period ends on June 14 and on that day, those who want to sign up must do so in person rather than by mail.
Kevin Rondeau of Manchester was among more than 40 candidates who showed up June 5 to run. He has decided to run as Representative in Congress, running he said as a Democrat because he is not pleased with the current representation in District 1, Congressman Chris Pappas, D-NH.
He stopped by the State House press room with one of his daughters saying he believes it is important not just to vote but to be willing to serve.
Secretary of State David Scanlan said one of the first in the door was Chuck Morse, a former state Senator who brought many supporters as he signed up to run as a Republican candidate for Governor.
Scanlan noted that Steve Shurtleff may have beat Morse to the desk to be first as Shurtleff signed up to run for Merrimack County Commissioner. Shurtleff is a Concord Democrat and long-time state Representative.
The cost for filing is $2 for state Rep, $10 for state Senator, $25 for Executive Council and $100 for governor while to get your name on the ballot for congressional seats is $50, said Scanlan.
Candidates can withdraw without penalty until the filings are closed at 5 p.m. on June 14 and after that, their name will appear on the ballot.
The primary for both Democrats and Republicans is set for Sept. 10 and the winners of that will go to a general election between Republicans and Democrats on Nov. 5.
Scanlan said his office was busy at times with large groups of county candidates often driving together and appearing at the same time.
There is a lot of information on the website https://www.sos.nh.gov/ and Scanlan encouraged a view of that or a call to his office for answers to any questions. The Elections Division is at 603-271-3242.
To run for a State Representative in the New Hampshire House, you must be at least 18 years of age, a registered voter, and domiciled in New Hampshire for at least 2 years, and you must live in the town or ward you are a candidate for.
To run for State Senator, you must be at least 30 years of age, a registered voter, domiciled in New Hampshire for at least 7 years, and you must live in the senate district you are a candidate for.
Up for grabs are all the 400 seats in the House, the 24 seats in the Senate, the five members of the Executive Council and governor and also various county seats though Scanlan said some of those have different term lengths.