The New Hampshire State House District Hillsborough 40 race is contested in the 2026 general election, with four candidates running. All four are Democrats, and all four currently hold office as incumbents.
The candidates are Mark MacKenzie, Erin Kerwin, Trinidad Tellez and Suraj Budathoki. Voters will decide the district’s representation in the general election on Nov. 3, 2026.
Who is running
Mark MacKenzie is running as a Democrat and is an incumbent in the New Hampshire House. His place in the race makes him one of four current officeholders competing in Hillsborough 40 in the general election.
Erin Kerwin is running as a Democrat and is also an incumbent. She joins MacKenzie and the district’s two other Democratic incumbents in the Nov. 3 contest.
Trinidad Tellez is a Democratic candidate and an incumbent in the State House. Tellez is part of a candidate field made up entirely of current Democratic officeholders.
Suraj Budathoki is running as a Democrat and is an incumbent. Like MacKenzie, Kerwin and Tellez, Budathoki enters the general election as a current officeholder rather than as a challenger seeking office for the first time.
What makes the race contested
A contested race has more candidates in the field than an uncontested race, where candidates face no electoral competition. Hillsborough 40 is listed as contested because MacKenzie, Kerwin, Tellez and Budathoki are all running in the district’s general election.
This contest does not feature a party contrast among the listed candidates. Each of the four candidates is a Democrat, so party labels do not distinguish them from one another. Their shared incumbent status also means the basic dividing line is not between current officeholders and newcomers.
Those features make the individual candidates, rather than different party affiliations or incumbent-versus-challenger labels, central to understanding the field. Each candidate enters with the same listed party and officeholder status.
The election timeline
The Hillsborough 40 contest is part of New Hampshire’s 2026 general election. Election Day is Nov. 3, 2026.
The current field gives voters four named candidates to follow as the general election approaches. Because the candidates share a party label and incumbent status, voters will need to distinguish among MacKenzie, Kerwin, Tellez and Budathoki as individuals when considering the race.
The final stages of the election process will establish the ballot lineup used for the general election. Election administration notices will also set out the practical voting information for the district as Nov. 3 approaches.
What voters can track
Changes to the candidate lineup are an important procedural point before ballots are finalized. Voters can also watch for official election information about where and how to vote in the district.
After voting concludes, official results reporting will show the outcome of the contested Hillsborough 40 election. Until then, the central facts of the race are clear: four Democrats, each an incumbent, are running in the Nov. 3 general election.
