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Dalton Select Board Initiates Coos 1 Special Election
COOS COUNTY — The Dalton Select Board on Monday called for a special election to fill the vacant Coos 1 House seat by special election.
The Select Board submitted a request to the Executive Council, which meets next on Oct. 4.
In its request, the Dalton Select Board wrote, “We believe it is essential for Dalton, and for Coos County, to have full representation in the State House of Representatives as soon as possible.”
Former Republican state Rep. Troy Merner resigned from the Coos 1 seat last week after an Attorney General’s Office investigation revealed he no longer lived in the district.
The four-town district comprises Dalton, Lancaster, Northumberland, and Stratford.
Under state law, once the Executive Council declares a special election, the primary would take place between two and two-and-a-half months later, and the special election would be held between three-and-a-half and four months later.
If party nominations are not contested, the special election would occur on the primary date.
There are provisions to hold the special election earlier or later, to coincide with a regularly scheduled election (such as the First In The Nation presidential primary).
The Coos 1 House special election carries major implications for state politics.
As of now, Republicans hold a 198-197 edge in the House of Representatives with three seats vacant.
Democrats are heavily favored to win a Nashua special election in November, which would create an even split.
That leaves two vacancies — Coos 1 (Dalton, Lancaster, Northumberland, Stratford) and Coos 6 (Gorham, Shelburne, Randolph) — to be filled in the coming months.
Merner was a fourth-term state representative who won re-election in November 2022.
He finished second in the three-way race for two Coos 1 House seats, edging third-place finisher Cathleen Fountain of Dalton, 1,380-1,110.
Fountain, a Democrat, has already declared her candidacy for the special election.