Election results show Republicans are expanding their lead in the New Hampshire state Senate, partly by way of an upset over Democratic Sen. Shannon Chandley.

Republican Rep. Tim McGough declared victory with a 1,000-vote, 3-point lead over Chandley in District 11, which includes Wilton, Merrimack, Amherst and Milford.

Chandley’s district was earmarked as one of the most-competitive Senate races in the state. McGough’s win, combined with that of Republican Victoria Sullivan, who’s claimed victory over Donna Soucy in District 18 – takes the Senate to a two-thirds Republican supermajority.

McGough, a three-term state representative from Amherst, ran on a platform of lowering costs for taxpayers and addressing healthcare needs. Chandley, who has served two terms in the Senate since 2018, supports reproductive rights, access to birth control and lowering costs for housing and child care. She also lives in Amherst.

Both have prioritized regulation and accountability over perfluoralkyls, or PFAS, contaminating water. Some towns in this district have struggled with PFAS contamination.

Other than Chandley, incumbent senators prevailed in the Monadnock region.

In District 8, incumbent Republican Ruth Ward beat her opponent, David Trumble, by just under 4,000 votes. On the campaign trail, the two candidates clashed over public education and New Hampshire’s response to climate change. District 8 includes Antrim, Bennington and Francestown.

In District 10, Democrat Donovan Fenton easily fended off his challenger, Richard Merkt, by about 8,000 votes, or 27 points. Fenton, who lives in Keene but also represents Peterborough, Hancock and Dublin, will return to Concord for his second term in the Senate.

Denise Ricciardi, the Republican senator from Bedford, held off Matthew McLaughlin again. In their District 9 rematch from 2022, Ricciardi beat McLaughlin, about 52% to 48%. That’s close to the margin she won by in the last election. In their campaigns, Ricciardi focused on her record of supporting family services, and McLaughlin ran on a pledge to prioritize clean energy. District 9 includes Jaffrey, Greenfield, Lyndeborough, Sharon and Temple.

In District 12, four-term Republican senator Kevin Avard easily defeated Ben Ming, about 56% to 44%. The district includes Rindge, Greenville, New Ipswich and Mason. Avard ran on a focus of supporting veterans, fixing road infrastructure, lowering health care costs and funding mental health care, according to his website. Ming prioritized public education funding, reproductive rights and lowering childcare costs and property taxes.

Charlotte Matherly is the State House reporter for the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript and Concord Monitor in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.