Republican Jay Ruais Elected Mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire

Republicans picked up an important victory on Tuesday night when Jay Ruais won the mayoral race in Manchester, New Hampshire, the state’s most populous city.

Jay Ruais bested his Democrat opponent, Kevin Cavanaugh, with 51 percent of the votes versus the latter candidate’s 49 percent. Per WMUR:

There was a margin of 488 votes between Ruais and Cavanaugh out of a total of 18,296 votes.

A source close to the campaign said Cavanaugh has called to congratulate Ruais.

Ruais is a former GOP activist and Capitol Hill staffer who has worked in the recovery community and currently serves in the Army National Guard.

Ruais ran a campaign of promising a “fresh vision” for Manchester on issues like public safety, homelessness, and mental health. Outgoing Mayor Joyce Craig, a Democrat, congratulated him on his victory Tuesday night.

“Congratulations to Mayor-Elect Jay Ruais on his well-earned victory. During my six years as Mayor, we’ve worked hard to make Manchester more affordable, keep our residents safe, and strengthen our schools,” Craig said.

In a statement released shortly after the victory, Ruais thanked his opponent for his life of public service to the city of Manchester.

“I want to thank Kevin Cavanaugh for running a great campaign,” he said.

His statement continued in that vein:

He has been a selfless servant for the City of Manchester, and I have appreciated the opportunity to campaign alongside him and share our ideas and vision for the future. Today, the voters of Manchester spoke, and affirmed our message that Manchester has a great deal of promise, and in order to reach our full potential we must bring our city together and tackle the challenges we have. Now it is time to get to work on achieving our full potential.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.