Walt Havenstein, the former CEO of BAE Systems‘ U.S. subsidiary and Science Applications International Corp., has won the Republican primary vote in the New Hampshire governor’s race, the Concord Monitor reported Wednesday.

Kathleen Ronayne writes Havenstein beat entrepreneur Andrew Hemingway by a margin of 19 percent of votes with close to 80 percent of precincts counted.

“We’re going to need a lot of hard work as we go through the next 56 days to take over the corner office. Let’s carry on to Concord,” Havenstein told supporters following the win.

The Monitor reported that Havenstein has received backing from supporters such as the Republican Governors Association.

Spokesman Henry Goodwin said Havenstein’s campaign will continue to focus on economic growth and jobs creation heading into the Nov. 4 general election, where he will run opposite incumbent Gov. Maggie Hassan.