Daniel Sarch

Mark Bates smokes a cigar while supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis before he speaks at 405 Pub & Grill in Laconia, N.H., Dec. 4, 2023. Former President Donald Trump is Bates’ first pick for the 2024 candidacy, but came to support DeSantis as a backup.

Senator Maggie Hassan holds one year-old Millie, the therapy dog, as she visits 603 United at the Belknap Marketplace in Belmont, N.H., on Aug. 7, 2024.

The audit team observes as ballots are audited from a voting machine in Laconia Ward 2 at the NH Records and Archives building, in Concord, N.H., on Sept. 12, 2024. Laconia Ward 2 was one of 10 randomly selected locations to be audited after the state primary.

N.H. Governor Chris Sununu listens to Nikki Haley speak at a campaign event a day before the state primary at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Franklin, N.H., Jan. 22, 2024. Despite Sununu’s endorsement, Donald Trump won the New Hampshire Republican primary.

A sign that reads “Voting This Way” with a handwritten arrow sits next to a painting of Jesus Christ at Ward 1’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the municipal elections in Laconia, N.H., Nov. 7, 2023. Polling locations are open 8am to 6pm, but all six wards had low turnout throughout the day due to there being only one contested race for city council in Ward 5.

People listen to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as he speaks and answers questions at 405 Pub & Grill in Laconia, N.H., on Dec. 4, 2023.

Marie Danforth, left, and Debbie Auger, eat from a bowl of popcorn during a public hearing at a city council meeting to pass a $7.3 million bond, at the high school cafeteria in Franklin, N.H., on Sept 3, 2024. The bond will fund Soldiers Memorial Hall, a building that includes Franklin City Hall and the Franklin Opera House, the latter of which was closed due to life safety and fire code violations.

Candidates talk to audience members after a Republican Candidate Forum held by the Merrimack County Republican Committee, at the Peabody Home, in Franklin, N.H., on August 28, 2024.

People wait for Nikki Haley before a campaign event at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Franklin, on Monday morning, Jan. 22, 2024. Haley arrived in Franklin a day before the first of the nation primary in New Hampshire.