On the Dover, NH (Ward 2) ballot: New Hampshire State Senate, District 4, general election, November 3, 2026. Citizens Count
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | David H. Watters Vote Smart |
| Born | December 28, 1950, in Hartford, Connecticut Vote Smart |
| Party | Democratic Party Ballotpedia |
| Current office | New Hampshire State Senate, District 4; serving since 2012 Ballotpedia |
| Seeking | Reelection to New Hampshire State Senate, District 4, on November 3, 2026 Citizens Count |
| Opponent | Shawn Mickelonis (R) |
| Education | B.A. in English, Dartmouth College; Ph.D. in English, Brown University Ballotpedia |
| Personal | Lives in Dover with his wife, Jan Alberghene; they have a son, Harper New Hampshire Senate |
| Campaign site | davidwattersforsenate.org |
| Years | Role |
|---|---|
| 1978–2017 | Professor at the University of New Hampshire; later Professor Emeritus of English Ballotpedia |
| 2008–2012 | Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Strafford 4 Ballotpedia |
| 2012–present | New Hampshire State Senator, District 4 Ballotpedia |
| Issue | Stated position |
|---|---|
| Cost of living and taxes | Opposes new broad-based taxes; supports low taxes, lower prices, jobs for working families, and business support. Citizens Count |
| Health care and recovery | Supports state resources for mental-health needs and substance-misuse recovery; has worked on recovery and harm-reduction initiatives. Citizens Count Campaign biography |
| Abortion | Supports reproductive rights, including a right to access abortion before 24 weeks, and opposes first- and second-trimester abortion bans. Citizens Count |
| LGBTQ rights | Supports LGBTQ equality, marriage equality, and recognition and protection of gender identity. BallotReady |
| Education and school funding | Supports public education, adequate funding, career and technical education, workforce development, and lower higher-education costs; opposes the Education Freedom Account program. BallotReady Citizens Count |
| Housing | Supports affordable housing and state action to remove municipal zoning barriers; supports the Housing Champions program. Citizens Count |
| Immigration | Opposes requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement; supports services and access to education and driving privileges for asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented residents under appropriate guidelines. Citizens Count BallotReady |
| Democracy and voting | Supports conditional affidavit ballots for new voters who register without identification on Election Day and opposes limits on student identification for voting. Citizens Count |
| Environment and energy | Supports renewable energy, solar, offshore wind, expanded net metering, electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, energy efficiency, PFAS remediation, and climate adaptation. Campaign biography BallotReady |
| EFA vouchers | Opposes the Education Freedom Account program. Citizens Count |
| Property tax and school funding | Opposes New Hampshire’s current public-school funding system, which the survey describes as relying on about two-thirds local property-tax funding. Citizens Count |
| Vote | Position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| HB 1, 2025 state budget | Voted against the final compromise state budget. | Citizens Count |
| HB 1268, 2026 home education | Voted to retain notification and evaluation requirements for home schooling. | Citizens Count |
| HB 1442, 2026 biological-sex separation | Voted against revising state anti-discrimination law to permit separation based on biological sex in specified facilities and activities. | Citizens Count |
| HB 1793, 2026 firearms on college campuses | Voted against allowing public-college faculty to carry firearms and studying guns on campus. | Citizens Count |
| SB 555, 2026 critical-risk protection orders | Voted against extreme-risk protection orders, also known as a “red flag law.” | Citizens Count |
| SB 176, 2025 minimum wage | Voted to consider a $15 minimum wage. | Citizens Count |
| SB 101, 2025 public-school open enrollment | Voted against allowing parents to enroll children in any public school in the state. | Citizens Count |
| SB 295, 2025 Education Freedom Accounts | Voted against removing the household-income limit for the EFA program. | Citizens Count |
None found in the reviewed evidence. Ballotpedia BallotReady
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Campaign fundraising in 2008 | $1,000; no later amount is provided in the cited evidence. Ballotpedia |
| Pollster | Dates | Result |
|---|---|---|
| No polls found | — | No polling information is provided in the reviewed evidence. |