Former Executive Councilor Russell Prescott secured a narrow victory in the Republican primary in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District Tuesday, setting up a general election contest against incumbent Democrat Chris Pappas.
The Associated Press called the race for Prescott shortly after midnight, with 94% of polling locations reporting results that had Prescott with 26% of the vote.
Prescott, who lives in Kingston, came to the race with a long political resume. He had previously served two terms on the Executive Council, as well as 10 years as a state senator. He also ran for this same congressional seat in 2022, finishing fourth in the Republican primary that was won by Karoline Leavitt.
Prescott won a tight victory Tuesday over a field that included first-time political candidate Hollie Noveletsky, whose family owns Novel Iron Works in Greenland. According to the Associated Press, Noveletsky finished second with around 24% percent of the vote.
Joe Kelly Levasseur, a longtime Manchester alderman who framed his campaign around his enthusiastic support for former President Donald Trump, finished third with 23%. Chris Bright of Derry, a West Point graduate, finished in fourth place.
On the trail, Prescott stressed his record as a fiscal conservative, touting his time helping to craft the state budget during the financial crisis, as well as his leadership of a family-owned water treatment company.
Pappas won his party’s renomination on Tuesday without a serious challenger, and is seeking his fourth term in Congress, representing a district that covers much of the eastern portion of the state, as well as his hometown of Manchester.
The district was seen as a swing seat for much of the past two decades, often flip flopping between Democrat and Republican representation, but Pappas has secured victories in each of the last three general elections.
