Upstart Republican Beats Establishment Democrat in New Hampshire Election

A Republican candidate for Mayor of Manchester, the biggest city in New Hampshire, has beaten his Democrat rival in a victory despite the odds.

Election officers hand out I Voted stickers at the VCU Institute for Contemporary Art on Election Day in Richmond, Va., on Nov. 8, 2022. Ryan M. Kelly/AFP/Getty Images

A Republican candidate has beaten his Democrat rival for mayor of New Hampshire’s biggest city, Manchester, despite the odds stacked against the GOPer, whose opponent was the hand-picked successor of the city’s current mayor and fellow Democrat.

The unofficial tally on Nov. 7 election night showed Republican mayoral candidate Jay Ruais with 9,392 votes, or just over 51 percent, while his Democrat opponent, Kevin Cavanaugh, received 8,904 votes, or just under 49 percent.