Another week of #NHPolitics Ins and Outs, taking you on a tour of the ins and outs of the ever-changing world of New Hampshire Politics, keeping score of the winners and losers week-by-week — and letting you know who’s in and who’s out.
Let’s get into it.
Who’s In?
Senate Dems Big Get — It was big news this week when retiring State Librarian Michael York of Goffstown announced he would be staging a write-in campaign for State Senate District 16, currently held by Keith Murphy after the district was left unfilled after the filing period.
Last year Murphy was accused of spitting on and threatening an employee with a plastic chair by Manchester police, charges for which he was later acquitted.
Dems Crush Fundraising — New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley made an unchallenged claim on Friday when he declared that New Hampshire Democratic state candidates and committees out-raised NH GOP candidates and committees by a margin of two to one.
Indeed, Democrats had a strong fundraising cycle, with standouts like State Rep. Angela Brennan, who raised $25K in the race for the District 15 State Senate seat, and Senate candidates like Shannon Chandley in District 11 holding a large cash on hand advantage. Matt McLaughlin in District 9 raised nearly 4 times as much as his opponent this reporting period.
The Democratic performance led at least one Republican State Representative to say NH GOP Chair Chris Ager “sucks at his job”.
Meanwhile, Kelly Ayotte saw a 45% decrease in percentage of total money raised since her last reporting cycle, per AmplifyNH.
Big Debate Activities Planned — This coming week is stacked with Democratic party engagement ahead of the first debate of the 2024 general election season, with the Biden campaign launching 80 events across the state. These include debate watch parties, door-knocking canvass launches, community gatherings, and a major reproductive rights mobilization event. Check out our preview for more.
Who’s Out!
Jon Stone Back In The News — The embattled State Rep. Jon Stone made his way back into the news this week after a review of his social media posts found numerous posts that include Holocaust and Nazi imagery, racist and anti-LGBTQ+ comments, and threats of violence. Check out our coverage for more.
White Supremacists 🤝 NH GOP — This week we got a chance to talk with State Representative Alissandra Murray about their experience being targeted by a white supremacist group for being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and how the NH GOP continued to direct harassment toward them when they tried to limit their exposure to members of the group. Check out our exclusive interview for more.
Is Victoria Sullivan Trying to be the New Carrie Gendreau?? — After kicking off Pride Month by declaring members of the LGBTQ+ community had no right to use the rainbow as a symbol, we did a deep dive on Sullivan’s history attacking members of the LGBTQ+ community. Check out our reporting to see what we found.
