8-14-18 Bill Gardner_signs fridge

New Hampshire's Secretary of State Bill Gardner signs Icebox I during a visit to the Sun in August. Gardner beat back a challenge from fellow Democrat Colin Van Ostern on Wednesday by a razor-thin margin of only a few votes. (JAMIE GEMMITI PHOTO)

CONWAY — Bill Gardner will be secretary of state for at least the next two years after winning the post in the second round of nail-bitingly close voting Wednesday on Organization Day under the Golden Dome in Concord.

Gardner, 70, of Concord, is the nation’s longest-serving secretary of state and the widely recognized guardian of the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary. He has held the office for the past 42 years.

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