Senator Jeff Woodburn arrested after allegedly biting partner and kicking down her door

Senator says he plans to fight charges in court

New Hampshire Senator Jeff Woodburn has been arrested on charges of domestic violence (YouTube/WMUR-TV)

The top Democrat in the New Hampshire state senate has been arrested on charges of domestic violence, after allegedly biting his romantic partner and kicking down the door to her home.

Police arrested Democratic leader Jeff Woodburn on Thursday, less than six weeks before his September primary. The former teacher turned three-time senator is seeking re-election in the fall.

Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said Mr Woodburn faced nine misdemeanour counts – including simple assault and domestic violence – from incidents that allegedly occurred between August 2017 and June of this year.

In one instance, Mr Woodburn allegedly threw a cup of water at his partner, then threw the empty cup at her face. In two separate instances, he is accused of biting the woman so hard it left a bruise.

Last Christmas Eve, the attorney general said, Mr Woodburn allegedly kicked down the locked door to his partners’ home and entered without her permission.

Mr Woodburn said in a statement that he had voluntarily responded to the police station and cooperated with law enforcement after the charges were filed. He added that he intended to “fully address and defend against these charges in court”.

Meanwhile, the 53-year-old’s fellow state officials called on him to immediately resign.

“Senator Woodburn’s morally reprehensible, violent behaviour has no place in public service, or anywhere else,” tweeted Republican Governor Chris Sununu. “Domestic violence will not be tolerated in New Hampshire. Senator Woodburn must resign. Immediately.”

The chairman of the state Democratic party also called on Mr Woodburn to step down, saying that the party would “stand with his accuser and support her during this unimaginably painful time”.

“The New Hampshire Democratic Party stands firm in our belief that any form of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or domestic violence is completely unacceptable behaviour for anyone – let alone our public officials, who should all be held to a higher standard,” Chairman Ray Buckley said in a statement.

The identity of the “intimate partner” described in the charges against Mr Woodburn was not immediately clear. The divorced father of five announced last November that he was engaged to Emily Stone Jacobs, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

In a Facebook post at the time, Mr Woodburn called Ms Jacobs his “treasure”, and said they had first met as children.

“Who would imagine that tonight 42 years later I would return to that spot to ask the beautiful, amazing girl who grew up there to be my wife (and she said yes!) Emily Stone Jacobs is my treasure!,” he wrote.