Copyright The Boston Globe
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Mayor Jay Ruais won reelection Tuesday in the most populous city in northern New England, fortifying his status as a major player in New Hampshire politics and proving again that local Republican candidates can hold their own in Democratic-leaning urban areas. Ruais carried about 59 percent of the vote, while Democratic challenger Jessica Spillers garnered 41 percent, according to unofficial results from the city clerk’s office. That victory margin is much wider than when Ruais won his first mayoral race two years ago by about 2.7 percentage points. The unofficial results are based on 16,302 votes that were machine-tabulated. They don’t include write-in votes or ballots that are being hand-counted. But with fewer than 350 write-in votes citywide, it’s clear Ruais won. Richard Girard, a Republican who launched a late write-in campaign to protest Ruais, conceded to the incumbent. The mayoral race is nonpartisan, but both candidates and their boosters openly acknowledged their political ties, in a race that served as an off-year skirmish between state-level Republicans and Democrats ahead of the 2026 elections. Advertisement That said, some voters attributed their support for Ruais to his on-the-job performance, not any partisan loyalty or political whim. “If somebody is doing it right, why change?” said Luis J. Sepulveda, a restaurant owner who cast a vote for Ruais in Ward 7. “I see the mayor involved in many activities, different events, helping the community, helping the small businesses. That’s the reason why I chose him.” Sepulveda said he has voted for Democratic candidates in the past, but has more recently backed Republicans when they seem to be the strongest option. “I just go for the best candidate, not for the party,” he said. The electorate in New Hampshire has shown greater affinity in recent years for state and local Republican candidates than for those seeking federal office. Despite installing a GOP trifecta in state government, New Hampshire still has an all-Democratic congressional delegation. Advertisement In 2024, when Manchester voters picked Kamala Harris over Donald Trump by a margin of about 7.6 percentage points, they also picked Republican gubernatorial nominee Kelly Ayotte over Democrat Joyce Craig by 3.7 percentage points — a clear sign of ticket-splitting in the city. That’s not to say, however, that local politics are immune to their national context. Lynda Bennett, a retired nurse who considered herself a fiscally conservative Republican before Trump’s rise, said she voted for Spillers, not Ruais, because she wants to send a message to Republicans at all levels about the improprieties of Trump’s second term. “The situation has gotten out of hand,” she said. As an independent since 2016, Bennett said she has been picking and choosing candidates from both parties to support. But this year, she is resorting to straight-ticket voting to express displeasure with Republicans enabling Trump’s White House. “I am voting strictly Democratic this time,” she said, “and I will next year, too.” If that anti-Trump sentiment proves to be a major factor for New Hampshire voters in the 2026 midterm elections, it could affect not only the state’s congressional contests but also the gubernatorial race, in which Ayotte — who has been navigating an at-times rocky relationship with Trump — is seeking reelection. Ruais, 40, has allied publicly with Ayotte on key priorities, including recent legislative changes to tighten the state’s bail laws and increase funding for the retirement benefits of public safety personnel. Ruais is an infantry officer in the Army National Guard and a former congressional staffer who later worked in the nonprofit sector. He launched his 2023 campaign with endorsements from major Republican figures and spoke openly about his own court-ordered rehabilitation for alcohol use, calling for an empathetic approach to serving those who experience substance abuse disorders or homelessness. Advertisement While the mayor has touted his team’s efforts to help unhoused people find permanent shelter, supporters of Spillers argued Ruais has prioritized the optics of a polished public image. Spillers, a member of the city’s Board of School Committee who launched her mayoral campaign with barely 24 hours left before the filing deadline, argued that Ruais and the aldermanic board had supported spending too little on the Manchester School District budget. Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
