As recently as September, Robin Davis didn’t know she would be involved in an election as a candidate this year. Two months later, voters appear to have elected her as the top lawyer in Merrimack County.
She received the Democratic nomination for county attorney on the effort of 1,377 voters writing in her name on the primary ballot, which had no declared Democratic candidate. After giving it much thought, Davis accepted the nomination shortly after.
The support Davis received in the primary carried through to Tuesday’s general election. Davis held a lead of about 2,350 votes over Republican Paul Halvorsen, a Concord city prosecutor, with all but Andover, Northfield, Sutton and Wilmot results reported Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Scott Hilliard is staying put as Merrimack County sheriff, and former executive councilor Peter Spaulding will continue as a county commissioner for a fourth term, voters decided on Election Day.
Hilliard cruised to victory in his first contested general election since he was elected in 2006. He led his opponent, Democrat Ricardo Rodriguez of Contoocook, by 9,601 votes at press time Tuesday night. Results from Andover, Northfield, Sutton and Wilmot had not yet been released.
The sheriff’s department fulfills a variety of law enforcement jobs across the county, including transporting prisoners and keeping the courthouses safe. It also provides dispatch services for smaller towns and pursues fugitives from justice.
Former Manchester alderman Jerome Duval, a Realtor and Democrat from Hooksett, challenged Spaulding for the seat on the three-member county commission, which oversees the county’s property and real estate holdings.
The county operating budget is about $100 million. There have been three significant county projects in the last few years, including the construction of a brand-new superior court building in downtown Concord. The courthouse, built directly behind the old one on North Main Street, was recently sold to the state for $15.7 million and opened on Monday.
County races don’t draw as much attention as those farther up the ballot, but Hooksett resident Lee Campbell said it is important for voters to study up on every race before heading to the booth.
“I read a lot, I listen to the news every day, I read the newspaper,” said Campbell, the wife of a former town selectman. “You need to know. Today with the electronic information you can get, there’s no reason why you can’t know.”