On May 31, the New Hampshire Supreme Court resolved a months-long stalemate between GOP Gov. Chris Sununu and his own party's legislators and approved a new congressional map that keeps both the state's seats highly competitive. The new map, drawn by court-appointed special master and Stanford Law professor Nathaniel Persily, moves just five towns from the eastern 1st CD to the western 2nd CDs to achieve population balance.
For much of the last year, GOP leaders in Concord had sought to upend more than a century of precedent and politically polarize the two seats, making Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas's 1st CD (currently Biden +6) much redder and Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster's 2nd CD (currently Biden +9) much bluer to maximize their party's chances of picking up one seat. But the popular Sununu steadfastly opposed the move, favoring competitiveness.
Now that the climate looks even worse for Democrats than it did last year, the new least-change map looks more attractive for Republicans than ever: both the 1st and 2nd CDs could flip red in 2022, vindicating Sununu's approach in the eyes
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