Race at a glance
New Hampshire House District Rockingham 16 has a contested general election scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026. Seven candidates are running, and all seven are Republican incumbents: Tom Dolan, Doug Thomas, Kristine Perez, Sherm Packard, Wayne MacDonald, David Lundgren and Ron Dunn.
An incumbent is someone who already holds the office being contested. That means this field contains no non-incumbent candidate. It also contains no candidate with a party label other than Republican.
For voters, those shared labels are an important starting point but do not distinguish the candidates from one another. A party label identifies a candidate’s political affiliation, while incumbent status shows that the candidate currently serves in the office. Neither label, on its own, tells voters how the candidates differ on individual issues.
Who is running
Each candidate enters the general election with the same listed party affiliation and officeholding status. The candidates are:
- Tom Dolan is a Republican incumbent running for New Hampshire House District Rockingham 16.
- Doug Thomas is a Republican incumbent running for New Hampshire House District Rockingham 16.
- Kristine Perez is a Republican incumbent running for New Hampshire House District Rockingham 16.
- Sherm Packard is a Republican incumbent running for New Hampshire House District Rockingham 16.
- Wayne MacDonald is a Republican incumbent running for New Hampshire House District Rockingham 16.
- David Lundgren is a Republican incumbent running for New Hampshire House District Rockingham 16.
- Ron Dunn is a Republican incumbent running for New Hampshire House District Rockingham 16.
Because every person in the field is an incumbent, voters will not be choosing between a current officeholder and a newcomer. Because every person has the same party affiliation, the general-election field also does not present a choice between party labels. The candidate names themselves are therefore the main distinctions shown by the lineup.
What makes the race contested
A contested election gives voters a choice among multiple candidates rather than presenting only one candidate. Rockingham 16 is classified as contested and has seven candidates in its general-election field.
The contest is unusual in one straightforward respect: all seven candidates share both the Republican label and incumbent status. That makes this a race among current officeholders from the same party, rather than a race divided between Republicans and candidates from another party.
No candidate can be assigned a policy position from party affiliation or incumbent status alone. Voters comparing the field will need to look at statements, campaign materials and other direct information from each candidate as the election proceeds.
Election calendar and next steps
The election is the 2026 New Hampshire general election, set for Tuesday, Nov. 3. That is the date voters will make their choices in the Rockingham 16 state House contest.
The main process developments to watch are any changes to the candidate field before the election and any direct policy statements released by the seven candidates. Those developments could give voters more ways to compare candidates who currently share the same party and officeholding labels.
