In the battle for control of the New Hampshire Senate, here are five races to watch • New Hampshire Bulletin

In a state Senate race, sometimes a few hundred votes can make all the difference. In 2016, one seat was flipped red based on just 17 votes.

Much of the country's political attention is focused on the presidency as Election Day approaches. But electoral contests, including those that determine control of the state Senate, play a critical role in shaping public policy on the issues that most directly affect residents.

The 24-member Senate is the upper chamber of the massive 400-member House of Representatives. As of 2021, Republicans have had a trifecta in state government, controlling the governor's office, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Republicans currently have a 14-10 majority in the Senate. They also control the five-member Executive Council, 4-1.

Democratic and progressive groups have Money pumped into the state in an attempt to flip the legislature. The race for governor — for a seat that remained open after incumbent Republican Gov. Chris Sununu decided not to seek a fifth term — is under review most competitive in the country and drew record-breaking spending.

Republicans have had control of state government more often in recent decades, holding a trifecta for a total of 13 years since 1992, compared to Democrats' four years. according to Ballotpediaa non-partisan political encyclopedia. Both chambers of the legislature were last controlled by Democrats from 2019 to 2020.

Of course, a candidate's party tells only part of the story and can encompass a range of policy positions. Still, there is insight into a broader ideology and priorities. Here are some of the seats that have been swapped between the major parties this century — and who is running to keep or flip them.

District 1

In the North Country, the Republican representative from Littleton serves. David Rochefort and political newcomer Rusty Talbotof Sugar Hill, are running for a seat vacated by Republican Sen. Carrie Gendreau, who did not seek re-election.

Both candidates seeking to replace her place little emphasis on the party and say they want to focus on the issues that affect the district most, such as education, health care and the importation of garbage from other states. (You can read more about the candidates – and their differences – in the bulletin Profile of the race.)

In the past, Republicans were favored for this seat, but Democrats were able to win it. Then-incumbent Sen. Jeff Woodburn was the last Democrat to win it in 2016. He won his three terms handily – by 18.1 points in 2012, 20.4 points in 2014 and 9 points in 2016. Voters elected a Republican over him by 9.3 points in 2018 following Woodburn's Arrested on allegations of domestic violence and elected two more Republicans by a wide margin in the following election.

District 1 consists of a huge swath of land in the northern third of the state and is geographically the largest in the state.

District 7

This district, made up of parts of Belknap, Grafton, Hillsborough, Sullivan and Merrimack counties, has sometimes shrunk to razor-thin margins.

In 2000, Republican Robert B. Flanders won the election with 89 votes. In 2014, Democratic incumbent Andrew J. Hosmer held on by less than a point, with just 155 votes deciding the seat – even though he had won it by a massive margin of 18.2 points just two years earlier. Hosmer lost the seat to Republican Harold French in 2016 by just 17 votes.

The incumbent Republican, Sen. Daniel E. Innis, a businessman and professor from Bradford, won his seat in 2022 by 9.2 points. He faces Democratic challenger Stu Green, a retired Marine commander from Andover.

Innis describes himself his campaign website A lifelong conservative, he emphasized issues such as the economy, constitutional freedoms and low taxes. Green also promotes “defending the Constitution.” his websiteand “keeping taxes low for those who can least afford them,” reproductive rights and veterans’ affairs.

District 9

Two-term incumbent Sen. Denise Ricciardi, a Republican from Bedford, faces her Democratic challenger Matthew McLaughlin in a district that includes parts of Cheshire and Hillsborough counties.

Republicans have held the seat in all but one election this century – sometimes by large margins, but sometimes by narrow margins, as was the case in Ricciardi's first victory in 2020. She took over the seat for Republicans from Democratic Sen. Jeanne Dietsch – but only with 1.1 points or 409 votes. Republican Andy Sanborn won his first of three terms in 2012 by less than a point, with just 213 votes deciding the race.

On her Campaign websiteRicciardi, who previously served on the Bedford City Council, emphasizes low taxes, her support for law enforcement, more school choice and clean drinking water.

McLaughlin, a Navy veteran and former commercial airline pilot from Bedford, highlights the problems on reproductive rights, climate change, education and protecting collective bargaining.

District 11

Incumbent Sen. Shannon E. Chandley, a Democrat from Amherst, faces a tough fight against Republican challenger Rep. Tim McGough of Merrimack. It's not her first in Hillsborough County, which includes Merrimack, Amherst, Milford and Wilton.

Chandley defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Gary L. Daniels in 2018, only for voters to carry Daniels back by a fraction of a point in 2020. She took his place again in 2022 with 2.6 points.

Chandley was the first Democrat to hold the seat since Mark Fernald in 2000. Republicans have sometimes won and held the seat by double digits, showing that none of this century's Democratic senators have done so. However, Chandley's victories show that the seat is up for grabs for Democrats. Now she has to answer the question: Is it durable?

McGough, on his Campaign websiteemphasizes issues such as border security, lower property taxes and protecting constitutional rights. He served in the House of Representatives last session and for two terms from 1996 to 2000.

Chandley, go on their websitefocuses on cost of living, reproductive health care and education. Both say they are against an income or sales tax. Chandley previously served three terms in the House of Representatives.

District 18

Manchester Sen. Donna M. Soucy, the Senate Democratic leader, is another incumbent hoping to keep her seat. She faces Republican challenger Victoria Sullivan, a former state representative.

Soucy has held the office since 2012 and won several of her elections by double-digit margins. But the seat was up for grabs for Republicans before Soucy's sixth term. In 2010, Republican Tom DeBlois edged out Democrat Betsi DeVries by a margin of 13.4 points. Another Republican, Andre Martel, held the seat for two terms in the early 2000s, won by a smaller margin of 5.7 points in 2002, less than one point in 2004, and was ultimately fired from office by DeVries in 2006.

Now, as Soucy seeks a seventh term, she faces self-described Sullivan from Manchester their campaign website as a financial conservative and “champion of educational freedom.” Her main themes include providing resources for people struggling with mental health and addiction and rejecting “sanctuary cities.”

Soucy highlights problems on their website like affordable health care and her vote to expand Medicaid, increase school funding and strengthen public education, and combat the opioid crisis.

The district includes Districts 5 through 9 of Litchfield and Manchester.