Balance of power in statehouse very much in play after recount ends in tie

Harrison Thorp 4:50 a.m.


Balance of power in statehouse very much in play after recount ends in tie

Chuck Grassie, David Walker (Grassie/Courtesy; Walker/Rochester Voice file photo)

ROCHESTER - Wednesday's recount of the District 8 state representative race between Republican David Walker and incumbent Rep. Chuck Grassie has ended in a tie, leaving the balance of power in Concord in question with more recounts scheduled in the coming days.
Walker won the vote in Election Day by a razor thin margin, 971-970. Wednesday's recount saw the two veteran candidates end in a tie, 970-970.
Strafford District 8 represents Rochester's Ward 4.
The Republican majority in the House had been 201-199 prior to the recount. Now it is a tenuous 200-199.
Three ballots and one absentee envelope will be reviewed by the Ballot Law Commission during the week of Nov. 28.
If any one of those ballots flips, it would essentially break the tie.
If none of the ballots flip the House would then vote to determine who will represent Rochester Ward 4 when it meets on Dec. 7, which is prescient for it will be someone's Pearl Harbor.