page_title: 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire
section_title: District 1
hierarchical_section_title: 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire / District 1
caption_attribution_description: Carol Shea-Porter, member of the United States House of Representatives.
context_page_description: The 2006 House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire took place on November 7, 2006 to determine who would represent the state of New Hampshire in the United States House of Representatives during the 110th Congress from January 3, 2007 until January 3, 2009.
  New Hampshire had historically been a stronghold of the Republican Party. Both congressional seats were held by Republicans going into the election, in addition to most state and local offices. However, New Hampshire gave its four electoral votes to John Kerry in 2004 and to Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Democratic Governor John Lynch, who defeated incumbent Republican Governor Craig Benson in 2004, was widely popular, and defeated his Republican opponent, Jim Coburn, in the simultaneous 2006. As a result, New Hampshire is commonly classified by the media as a tossup or battleground state in many federal elections.
  In this particular election, Democrats were not initially expected to unseat either of the Republican incumbents, Jeb Bradley and Charlie Bass.
context_section_description: Incumbent Jeb Bradley won reelection in 2004 with 63% of the vote. Bradley was a fiscal conservative who supported reductions in taxes and spending. In 2004, this was the only Congressional District in New England that President Bush carried. 
  In a surprise upset victory in the Democratic primary, Rochester Democratic chair Carol Shea-Porter defeated the better funded and party-favored state House Democratic Leader Jim Craig, getting 54% of the vote to Craig's 34%. Shea-Porter supported a single-payer healthcare program and increased federal funding for education. Unlike her opponent, she disagreed with President Bush on foreign policy issues and the War in Iraq.
  Polls conducted over the course of the campaign showed Bradley in mid-September holding a 25% lead over Shea-Porter. The trend over the next six weeks, however, showed that lead shrinking. Just prior to election day Bradley was favored over Shea-Porter by just 5%, within the 5% margin of error. 
  Despite those polling trends, and the shift toward Democratic candidates seen nationwide in 2006, Shea-Porter's victory over Bradley was described by many as "surprising" and an "upset." 
  When the votes were counted, Shea-Porter was declared victorious with 51% of the vote to Bradley's 49%.
caption: Democratic Candidate Carol Shea-Porter.
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