The 2012 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, U.S. House elections, and various state and local elections.
Four-term incumbent governor John Lynch was eligible to seek a fifth term. In the fall of 2011, Lynch announced that he would retire rather than run for re-election. On September 11, 2012, Democrat Maggie Hassan and Republican Ovide Lamontagne defeated primary opponents to win their parties' nominations. Hassan won the election while carrying every county in the state and began the two-year term on January 3, 2013.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Jackie Cilley, former state Senator
- Maggie Hassan, former majority leader of the New Hampshire Senate
- Bill Kennedy, firefighter and retired Air Force officer
Declined
- Mark Connolly, former director of the New Hampshire's Bureau of Securities Regulation
- Tom Ferrini, mayor of Portsmouth
- Gary Hirshberg, chairman and former CEO of Stonyfield Farm
- John Lynch, incumbent governor
- Steve Marchand, former mayor of Portsmouth
- Phil McLaughlin, former state Attorney General
- Terry Shumaker, lawyer and former United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago
Republican primary
Candidates
- Ovide M. Lamontagne, attorney, 1992 congressional candidate, nominee for governor in 1996 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
- Kevin H. Smith, conservative activist and former state Representative
- Robert Tarr
Declined
- Bill Binnie, businessman and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
- Jeb Bradley, New Hampshire Senate Majority Leader and former U.S. Representative
- Peter Bragdon, state Senate President
- Ted Gatsas, Mayor of Manchester
- Steve Kenda, businessman
- John Lyons, chairman of the New Hampshire Board of Education
- John Stephen, former Health and Human Services Commissioner and Republican nominee for governor in 2010
General election
Candidates
- John Babiarz (Libertarian), businessman and party nominee for governor in 2000, 2002, and 2010
- Maggie Hassan (D), former majority leader of the New Hampshire Senate
- Ovide Lamontagne (R), attorney, Republican nominee for governor in 1996, and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010
Debates
- Complete video of debate, C-SPAN, September 14, 2012
- Complete video of debate, C-SPAN, October 8, 2012
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Rockingham (largest municipality: Derry)
By congressional district
Hassan won both congressional districts.