RIDING THE WAVE

Dems Stunningly Flip Seat in Major Humiliation for Trump

A Democrat turned a GOP state house seat blue in a battleground state.

A Democrat flipped a Republican seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives deep in Trump country, in another local ripple that could signal a national blue wave.

Bobbi Boudman defeated Dale Fincher in a special election after the Republican holding the seat moved out of the district on Tuesday.

The Democrat won roughly 52 percent of the vote, with 48 percent going to the Republican. More than 4,000 people cast a ballot in the district, which sits in rural Carroll County near the border with Maine.

The results mark a significant break from tradition. Trump won the area in 2024, running up double-digit margins in some towns.

Down ballot, the Democrat Boudman tried twice to wrest the state house seat from GOP hands. Twice she failed.

Her victory on Tuesday fits a larger trend. According to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the party has now flipped 28 seats nationwide since Trump won back the White House in 2024.

“Tuesdays are becoming a headache for state Republicans across the country as they suffer one stunning defeat after another,” DLCC president Heather Williams said in a statement. “These wins aren’t a flash in a pan—together, they tell an undeniable story of Democratic momentum as voters reject Republicans and blame them for soaring costs.”

The White House did not immediately return the Daily Beast’s request for comment.

Boudman’s messaging on the campaign trail also hit on areas where Trump is polling poorly nationwide. She focused on affordability, education, and fiscal responsibility. On Boudman’s website, she writes that New Hampshire state government leaders have a duty “to be fiscally conservative.”

One poll published this week reports that 62 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. That same poll shows that 48 percent of registered voters believe Trump’s policies are hurting the economy.

Fincher presented himself to voters as “a mediator in this fractious time of political polarization.”

Another bright spot for Democrats was the cash—or lack thereof—that it took to flip the seat. According to the political newsletter “The Downballot,” Boudman raised $12,000 for her campaign with few outside donors. The Republican received $30,000 from outside groups, in addition to the $25,000 he raised himself.

The Democrat win is also set against the backdrop of a state government led entirely by Republicans.

The GOP controls the state legislature and the governor’s mansion. Republican Kelly Ayotte beat Manchester’s former mayor, Joyce Craig, in the 2024 gubernatorial race.

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CNN’s data guru, Harry Enten, reported this week that Democrats have a 46 percent chance of seizing control of both the House and the Senate. “What we see is that Democrats’ chance of doing that has been rising, rising, rising on a stairway to heaven my dear friend,” Enten said. “It’s not yet at 50 percent, but it is clearly rising.”

With midterms on the horizon, New Hampshire is also entering the national conversation as one of the Republican Party’s best opportunities to retain control of the Senate.

Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen is not seeking re-election. Two former GOP senators, Scott Brown and John Sununu, are running for the seat.

On the Democratic side, Congressman Chris Pappas is leaving his post to battle progressive scientist Karishma Manzur for the nomination.

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Donovan LynchBreaking News Intern

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