Some people would call New Hampshire a purple state. But I think that’s misleading. New Hampshire is blue at the national level and red at the state level. In recent years, its senators and House members are all Democrats. But its governors and legislature are Republican, and not just by a small margin.

For example:

Now, with Tuesday’s election providing stronger majorities in the State House and Republican Kelly Ayotte’s victory in the race for governor, Republican lawmakers have the opportunity to pass bolder legislation.

Barring any changes from recounts, the House is expected to have 222 Republicans and 178 Democrats, according to the House Clerk’s Office; the Senate is projected to have 16 Republicans and eight Democrats.

The article has a list of legislative goals for the state Republicans, such as banning sanctuary cities in the state and having a parental rights bill. And of course there is New Hampshire’s well-known tax conservatism.

A person could be forgiven for thinking that New Hampshire is a red state. But at the national level, the state went for Harris – granted, by a narrow margin of 50.7 to 47.9, but in line with the fact that Clinton won there in 2016 and Biden in 2020. This year, there were no senators in New Hampshire up for election, but New Hampshire’s two current members of the US House are both Democrats. One was incumbent Pappas, who won easily: by eight points. The other seat was open but the Democrat won by six points.

So, what gives in New Hampshire? I think the state’s tax tradition is one of the reasons it remains Republican at the local level. It is also commonly thought that the trend at the national level has to do with new residents from Massachusetts, but I’ve read several analyses that say the new arrivals haven’t tended to vote consistently for Democrats. So the mystery remains.