Throughout this year, New Hampshire was a state that we watched closely. On Election Day, the Granite State offered plenty of good news, but one statistic in particular caught my eye.

In addition to maintaining Democratic majorities in both the state house and state senate, the voters of New Hampshire chose to make a bit of history.

For the first time ever, women have gained the majority in a legislative chamber.

After Tuesday’s election, thirteen of the twenty-four state Senate seats in New Hampshire are now occupied by women. Peggy Gilmore (District 12), Bette Lasky (District 13) and Amanda Merrill (District 21) beat out their Republican opponents to join the eight Democratic female incumbents (and two Republican women) in the upper chamber.

This post was written by Danielle Horowtiz, a Klindt/Dye Intern for the 2008 Fall Semester.

Yesterday, John DiStaso, a columnist for the New Hampshire Union Leader, wrote a pretty comprehensive look at the contest for control of the state senate.

The takeaway:

At this point, Democrats appear to be in a strong position to maintain their 14-10 majority in the state Senate. They are generally better-funded than the Republicans and, like two years ago, their campaigns are being effectively coordinated by their state party apparatus.

Read his entire analysis for a race-by-race account.

In New Hampshire, Senate President Sylvia Larsen, a DLCC board member, and House Speaker Terie Norelli are touring the state along with Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley to promote the legislative accomplishments passed and promoted by Democratic majorities in both chambers:

Looking back at the Democrats' "track record" since 2006, Norelli said it has been a good one. When the Democrats assumed ownership of the House majority office, the ceiling in the office leaked, she recalled. That leak, among other, more pressing problems such as the viability of the state retirement system, was a matter that "the Republicans had plenty of time to address" but didn't.

It was Democrats who passed "a balanced, transparent and responsible budget," said Norelli, although she conceded that the budget ran into trouble at the same time the national economy did.

All three leaders say that prospects look good for Democrats in the fall.

Democrats in New Hampshire hold a 14-10 majority in the Senate and a 235-158 majority in the House, and they feel good about their chances in the fall.

That's at least in part because they've also made a steady effort to improve the party's position in the state since 2002. Over the last six years, party leaders estimate that Democrats have gained around 84,000 new voters. They've quadrupled the state party budget, opened 28 new local offices, and now employ more than 50 full-time staffers overall.

Another big part of the reason for Democratic confidence in this election is that legislators have done a remarkable job passing effective legislation and governing. Senate President Sylvia Larsen outlines those accomplishments here.

There are 24 senate seats in New Hampshire, and as of Friday, there is a Democrat running for each of them.

That’s never happened before in the history of the state Democratic Party, and obviously, that means that all the Republican incumbents will have a challenger in November.

Which we at the DLCC kind of love.