Results: Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster defeats Republican Bob Burns in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District election

• Rep. Annie Kuster defeated Republican Bob Burns in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District.
• The 2nd District is located in the largely rural western half of the state.

Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster defeated Republican Bob Burns in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District.

Polls closed in the state at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District candidates

Kuster, who was running for her 6th term in the US House, serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. She is also a member of the House Agriculture Committee, where she serves on the Nutrition, Oversight, & Department Operations Subcommittee. A survivor of sexual assault, Kuster founded and serves as co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence.

Prior to her time in Congress, Kuster worked as an attorney and a healthcare and education lobbyist at the New Hampshire General Court. In Congress, Kuster has focused on the economy, veterans' affairs, as well as Medicare, Social Security, and medical research funding for diseases that affect older Americans.

She was at odds with Burns, her challenger, on the issue of abortion. Shortly after the Republican primary, Kuster told a local station that perhaps the biggest issue this fall will be abortion.

"I will protect access to safe, legal abortion, and my opponent, Mr. Burns, won't, and that's the difference," Kuster told WMUR 9. "That's what's on the ballot this November."

Meanwhile, Burns said the top issues of the campaign are inflation and the high cost of energy.

Burns is a local businessman and the former treasurer of Hillsborough County. He's been endorsed by several former Trump administration officials, including former Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.

Burns served as the national youth coalition chair of former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign throughout the primary and general elections and was selected as one of Trump's delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

He defeated his GOP opponents in the seven-way primary, bringing in nearly one-third of the total vote.

Voting history for New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District

New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District covers the western half of the state and then some, running from the Massachusetts state line in the south to the Canadian border in the north. Largely a rural district, it also includes the cities of Nashua, Keene, and Concord, the state capital.

President Joe Biden had an 8.7 percentage point margin of victory over Trump under the district's previous boundaries in 2020 before it underwent a redrawing process that kept district lines nearly the same in redistricting following the 2020 Census. The partisan lean — Democratic — remained unchanged.

The money race

According to OpenSecrets, Kuster had raised $4.1 million, spent $3.3 million, and has $1.8 million on hand, as of October 19. Her opponent, Burns, had raised $351,496, spent $199,608, and has $151,888 cash on hand, as of October 19.

Through early November, spending by super PACs, national party committees, and other non-candidate groups — about $3 million, including the race's primary election — has been relatively light compared to such spending in other highly-contested congressional races.

What experts say

The race between Kuster and Burns was rated as "likely Democratic" by Inside Elections, "lean Democratic" by The Cook Political Report, and "likely Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.