By Granite State Report Staff
Published: October 30, 2025
CONCORD, N.H. — A bid to redraw New Hampshire’s two congressional districts mid-decade has been shelved after Gov. Kelly Ayotte reiterated she would not support revisiting the maps before 2030, prompting the bill’s sponsor to pull the measure. The decision keeps in place the “least-change” map the New Hampshire Supreme Court adopted in 2022 and sets the stage for a familiar battleground in the 1st Congressional District heading into the 2026 midterms. (Politico)
The news: Mid-cycle redraw effort withdrawn
State Sen. Dan Innis withdrew his proposal for a 2025 congressional remap, citing Ayotte’s opposition to redistricting outside the regular 10-year cycle. “The governor wasn’t that supportive…since it’s in the middle of the normal redistricting cycle,” Innis said, according to reporting first flagged last week. Ayotte has repeatedly argued the “timing is off” during the census period and that redistricting isn’t a priority for Granite Staters. (Politico)
The retreat in New Hampshire mirrors similar resistance among some Republicans nationally to a coordinated push for mid-decade redraws. Reporting this week detailed how a handful of GOP leaders in multiple states have slowed efforts encouraged by national party figures. (Politico)
Why it matters
A mid-cycle congressional map could have reshaped the battlefield ahead of 2026, when both of New Hampshire’s House seats are up. Instead, the 1st District (NH-01) remains one of New England’s most competitive seats under the current lines, with Democrats holding both districts since 2024. That continuity favors candidates and organizations that have built strategy and infrastructure around the court-drawn map since it took effect in 2022. (AP News)
How we got here: New Hampshire’s 2022 map fight, in brief
The current map is not a legislative compromise but a judicial one. After then-Gov. Chris Sununu vowed to veto plans passed by the Legislature in 2022, the New Hampshire Supreme Court appointed Stanford Law Professor Nathaniel Persily as special master. The court ultimately adopted his “least-change” plan, which moved just five towns—Albany, Campton, Jackson, New Hampton, and Sandwich—from NH-01 to NH-02 to equalize population, leaving the overall partisan complexion largely intact. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
Primary source documents from the Judicial Branch and redistricting scholars confirm the special master’s mandate and the procedural timeline that led to the court’s order. (All About Redistricting)
Ayotte’s posture has been consistent
Since taking office in January, Ayotte has telegraphed skepticism about reopening congressional lines mid-cycle. In August, she told WMUR and others that a redraw wasn’t on the public’s agenda and that doing so during the census window made little sense. That stance remained unchanged this month when GOP lawmakers explored moving a bill. (WMUR)
The national backdrop
This month’s freeze in New Hampshire came as national Republicans pressed for mid-decade remaps in several states, and as reporting spotlighted intraparty divisions over whether to push the envelope ahead of 2026. The slowdown in Concord has been cited as part of that broader story. (Politico)
What stays the same under the current map
- Court-drawn lines remain through 2030 unless the Legislature and governor agree to change them sooner. The court’s “least-change” map is designed to minimally disrupt existing districts while meeting equal-population requirements. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
- NH-01 remains highly competitive. The district includes Manchester and much of the Seacoast. Historically volatile, it has flipped multiple times since 2006 and is commonly rated as competitive in national handicapping, even if precise 2026 ratings require a subscription. (Cook Political Report maintains current ratings and releases; public summaries indicate a closely contested national battlefield.) (Cook Political Report)
- NH-02 leans Democratic under current coalitions. Democrats held it in 2024 and continue to benefit from the map’s continuity, though candidate quality and cycle dynamics always matter. (AP News)
Related reading: Cook’s methodology for PVI (Partisan Voting Index) and the latest PVI report explain why some districts persistently lean toward one party even when individual races are competitive. (Cook Political Report)
Legal reality check: Could the Legislature redraw anyway?
Yes—mid-decade redistricting isn’t barred by federal law, and New Hampshire’s Legislature retains the authority to pass new maps, according to analyses cited by state political outlets earlier this year. But authority and appetite are different things: without the governor’s signature, a bill is a dead letter, and Ayotte has been explicit about not wanting to reopen the maps now. (NH Journal)
For historical context, in 2022 the judicial branch took supervisory control because political branches deadlocked—underscoring that if elected leaders can’t agree, the courts will ensure a compliant map is in place for elections. (Election Law Blog)
Political implications for 2026
1) Candidate strategy will center on persuasion in NH-01. With no partisan tilt engineered by a new map, campaigns will focus on retail politics, turnout operations, and wedge issues. Expect to see competing narratives around cost of living, abortion policy, and immigration, consistent with 2024 patterns. (AP News)
2) Fundraising and outside spending likely rise. A stable, competitive map invites national attention. Super PACs and party committees will plow money into voter contact and air time in the Manchester and Seacoast media markets.
3) Local issues still punch above their weight. New Hampshire’s political identity is stubbornly local. Voters’ top-of-mind concerns—housing costs, school policy, and energy prices—will likely matter more than map geometry. Note that 2025 saw major housing bills signed, which both parties will message around as they court swing voters. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
4) Lawsuits are unlikely absent new legislation. With the court-drawn map in place and no new statute to challenge, litigation avenues are narrow unless advocates identify constitutional deficiencies previously overlooked.
What Granite Staters told us they’re watching
- Housing: A wave of zoning reforms and ADU allowances passed this summer; their implementation and impact on supply remain front-burner. Voters will watch whether promised construction actually occurs in their towns. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
- Schools: The Education Freedom Account (EFA) expansion—passed by the Senate and awaiting or recently receiving executive action—carries fiscal and enrollment caps that are already being stress-tested by demand. That policy tug-of-war will be a campaign talking point. (New Hampshire Government)
- Courts and ethics: The judiciary has been in headlines this month, including a plea deal involving a state Supreme Court justice. Ethics stories can shape broader trust narratives, even if unrelated to redistricting. (Reuters)
A short history of NH-01 volatility
New Hampshire’s 1st District has ricocheted between parties over the past two decades, a reflection of its suburban-seacoast makeup and razor-thin margins. While Democrats currently hold the seat, the district’s fundamentals have made it a perennial target, and observers widely expect it to be in competitive tiers of the national ratings next year. (Cook’s site shows the active ratings dashboard; specific seats often require subscription access.) (Cook Political Report)
The map itself: What changed—and what didn’t—in 2022
The 2022 court order made only surgical adjustments from the previous decade’s districts, moving five small towns from NH-01 to NH-02 to equalize populations to within a single person—an almost comically precise balance that satisfied one-person-one-vote requirements without engineering partisan advantage. That “least-change” philosophy is unusual only in its restraint; courts prefer narrow remedies when political branches stalemate. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
Primary records from the court and statehouse confirm the special master’s appointment and the governor’s veto message that triggered court supervision. (All About Redistricting)
What opponents and supporters of a mid-cycle redraw argued
Pro-redraw camp (national and some state Republicans):
- Claimed a redraw could better reflect present-day political geography and help balance national representation before 2026.
- Noted that mid-decade redistricting is permissible and has precedent. (Politico)
Anti-redraw camp (Ayotte and cross-pressured state Republicans, plus Democrats and good-government groups):
- Argued that rebooting maps during the census period erodes public trust and looks like “moving the goalposts.”
- Pointed to New Hampshire’s tradition of small-d democratic norms and warned of backlash.
- Local civic groups pressed for “fair maps, not more gerrymandering” as national calls for aggressive redraws grew louder. (WMUR)
What happens next
With the map status quo preserved, attention returns to candidate recruitment, policy records, and turnout. NH-01 will again be a proving ground for both parties’ messages on affordability and rights, while NH-02’s dynamics will depend on incumbency strength and national mood. National handicappers will update ratings in the coming months; Cook’s public-facing pages already outline a narrow House battlefield in 2026. (Cook Political Report)
Documents & data: Read for yourself
- Politico: Reporting that the New Hampshire mid-cycle effort was frozen after Innis withdrew his bill amid Ayotte’s opposition. (Politico)
- WMUR: Ayotte publicly rules out redistricting, calling the timing off and the issue low-priority for residents. (WMUR)
- New Hampshire Supreme Court (2022): Order appointing special master Nathaniel Persily; special master’s report and plan. (All About Redistricting)
- NHPR & Concord Monitor (2022): Sununu’s veto pledge and the court’s assumption of the process. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
- New Hampshire Bulletin (2022): “Least-change” map adopted, with five towns moved to balance population. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
- Redistricting Almanac / LLS: Summaries of the 2022 proceedings and the court’s final order. (Redistricting Online)
- AP (2024): Democrats hold both House seats—baseline context for 2026. (AP News)
- Cook Political Report: House ratings dashboard and PVI methodology for understanding competitiveness. (Cook Political Report)
Bottom line
The maps voters used in 2022 and 2024 will be the maps they use in 2026—unless there’s an unexpected about-face in Concord. Ayotte has shut the door for now, and with the sponsor pulling his bill, the mid-cycle remap is off the table. That moves the fight where New Hampshire politics traditionally lives anyway: doorsteps, diners, town halls, and the endless loop of Manchester TV. In other words, the game is persuasion, not cartography. (Politico)
Methodology & sourcing notes
Granite State Report reviewed contemporary reporting from national and local outlets, original court documents and orders, and nonpartisan redistricting resources. Where paywalled or subscription-protected analysis (e.g., specific Cook race ratings) was relevant, we linked to publicly available overviews and methodology pages. We also verified the 2022 New Hampshire redistricting timeline and the special master’s “least-change” plan through primary source PDFs hosted by the Judicial Branch and redistricting archives. (All About Redistricting)
Editor’s note
If legislators revisit this issue or propose criteria reforms (e.g., explicit map standards, citizen commission proposals), we will update with bill text, fiscal notes, and expert legal analysis. For deeper reading on New Hampshire’s redistricting law and history, see the “All About Redistricting” state page and Ballotpedia’s redistricting overview. (All About Redistricting)
Contact the newsroom: dexterdow@GraniteStateReport.com
Corrections & clarifications: Found an error or omission? Send notes to the editor and we’ll review promptly.
