Cortvriend beats incumbent Mendonca for House District 72 seat

By Jim McGaw

PORTSMOUTH — It was a big night for Portsmouth Democrats on Tuesday.

With 15 candidates running, Democrats apparently grabbed all but one of the seven available Town Council seats. Some results could change because more than 900 emergency and mail ballots were still unaccounted for when the polls closed.

Still, Democrats seemed giddy at the Portsmouth Portuguese American Citizens Club, their election night headquarters.

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District 72 to Cortvriend

Democrats also found success in the General Assembly races.

Terri-Denise Cortvriend defeated Republican incumbent Kenneth Mendonca for the House District 72 seat by nearly 500 votes. That race was perhaps the most intriguing of the local General Assembly contests.

“I feel very excited and relieved. I’ve been on pins and needles all day,” said Ms. Cortvriend, known to many locally as the chairwoman of the Portsmouth School Committee, a position she chose to relinquish when she ran for General Assembly.

“We worked really hard. I had a great team of women and we walked every street in District 72 — and it’s a big district. We had an upbeat, positive campaign,” she said.

Representative, District 72

Candidate Total votes

Terri-Denise Cortvriend (D) 3413

Kenneth J. Mendonca (R) 2835

Photo Credits: House District 72 candidate Terri-Denise Cortvriend, a Democrat, reacts as she watches the ballots tallied in her favor at the Portsmouth Portuguese American Citizens Club Tuesday night. She defeated incumbent Kenneth Mendonca. At left is Sen. James Seveney, who won another term in District 11. At right is Sen. Seveney’s wife, Valerie. JULIE FURTADO

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