Michael "Mike" Downing (October 20, 1954 - April 17, 2015) was the Sheriff of Rockingham County, New Hampshire,[1] having served in that role from his election in 2010 until his cancer related death in 2015.
[2] Downing was a Republican member of the New Hampshire Senate, representing the 22nd district from 2006 to 2010.
[3] After a three-way Republican primary, Mike Downing ran against Democrat Beth Roth for the open seat that was vacated by Chuck Morse who gave up the seat to run for the New Hampshire Executive Council.
Police officer Shannon Coyle of Derry waged a write-in campaign for the Democratic primary, and won the nomination.
On election day, Downing won with 60% of the vote, compared to 30% for Coyle and 9% for Heyl.