At the New Hampshire Statehouse, the partisan waves have quieted and lawmakers from both sides say they are ready to work together to steer the ship.
And from the looks of state’s new political landscape, progress will depend on the two parties working together.
After partisan surges severely changed the shape of the Legislature in 2006 and 2010, the House and the Senate returned this week to closer margins that better reflect the state’s moderate electorate, political leaders and analysts said Wednesday.
In the state Senate, Democrats gained six seats, by a preliminary count, but Republicans held on to the majority by a slim 13-11 margin.
“Obviously the pendulum is swinging back. … It would be hard to have it go any further one way than it was,” said Senate President Peter Bragdon, a Milford Republican who presided over a 19-5 majority this past session and won re-election in an uncontested race.
And in the House of Representatives, Democrats reclaimed the majority from House Republicans, winning at least 217 of 400 seats, with six races left to be finalized, according to a preliminary count.
This past year, Republicans held a veto-proof majority, 297-103, in the House.
“The public is ready for some moderation,” state Rep. Terie Norelli, the House Democratic leader, said Tuesday. “People are ready for us to be speaking, talking with one another, listening to one another and working together for the benefit of our state.”
The close margins in both houses of the Legislature differ markedly from past elections, when partisan waves swept the state, creating severe shifts in the Legislature’s makeup.
In 2006, in the midst of unpopular President George W.![]()
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