Overview
- Jay Ruais defeated Jessica Spillers with about 59% of the vote to 41%, a lead of 2,934 votes, according to local tallies.
- The city clerk reported 16,302 machine-tabulated ballots, and with fewer than 350 write-ins outstanding the outcome was not in doubt.
- The result marks a stronger performance for Ruais than his narrow 2023 win, reinforcing his position in New Hampshire’s largest city.
- Though listed as nonpartisan, the race was treated as a proxy contest between state Republicans and Democrats ahead of 2026.
- Ruais highlighted plans to reduce crime and keep taxes low, while Spillers, a school board member, ran a late-start campaign focused on school budgeting.