Free State talk radio host and convicted murderer Mark Edgington, candidate for a House seat representing Hudson and Litchfield, appears to be a recent arrival to the community.
Edgington, 53, is a longtime resident of Westmoreland, a small community outside Keene on the other side of the state. Edgington is a former partner with Free Keene’s Ian Freeman, the jailed Libertarian talk radio host convicted of money laundering and wire fraud.
Years earlier, Edgington spent about eight years in a Florida prison after strangling a man to death.
While he is now registered to vote in Hudson, Edgington’s address on file with the Hudson town clerk’s office is a UPS Store on Lowell Street.
Edgington did not respond to a question about his residency in Hudson. In April on a Hudson Facebook group, Edgington asked the group about a room for rent in either Hudson or Litchfield.
“I am looking for a room to rent in Hudson or Litchfield. I am a 53 yo non drinker and non smoker,” he posted.
Edgington is married with a teen son, a fact he touts as part of his campaign biography. A married father seeking a rented room in a town more than an hour’s drive away is one more curious aspect to Edgington’s candidacy.
Current Rep. Ralph Boehm and former Rep. Kim Rice are also running in the GOP primary in this Republican-leaning district. Campaign professionals say it’s not the type of district where the party would need a candidate to parachute in to fill a vacancy. There are two safe Republican seats and three candidates, including Edgington.
Boehm suspects Edgington’s run is backed by House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn.)
“We do not need a convicted murderer running for office in the Republican Party. And I think it is a disgrace that this person is being encouraged by the House Majority Leader,” Boehm told NHJournal.
Osborne did not respond to a request for comment. The lone Democrat running in the district, Luan Baci, also did not respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time a Free State transplant running as a Republican generated bad headlines. Former House candidate Elliot Axelman was charged this year with assaulting a teen girl at the 2022 PorcFest, the Free State Project’s annual gathering.
Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party Chris Ager did not weigh in on Edgington’s suitability as a candidate, saying it is up to voters to decide.
“The people of that district have a choice since it is a contested primary and I’m confident they’re going to make the right choice,” Ager said.
Edgington was 17 when he strangled motel manager Ballapuran Umakanthan, 37, to death, according to his affidavit. Edgington and his accomplice, Carmen Tungate, then 18, planned to beat and rod the motel manager in a Bradenton, Fla. Econo Lodge. When Umakanthan fought back, Tungate held the man down while Edgington strangled him until he saw blood coming out if Umakanthan’s ears, according to the affidavit.
“35 years ago, at 17, I made some bad choices to hang out with the wrong people. The results were catastrophic. It taught me a lot and I am grateful for the lessons, all of the lessons, that have made me the man I am today,” Edgington told NHJournal via email yesterday.
Edgington pleaded no contest to second degree murder and served less than 10 years of his 30 year sentence. Once released, he attended classes at a Florida community college where he met Freemen. The two would move to New Hampshire to be part of the Free State Project and launch the Free Talk Live show.
Freeman ended up excommunicated from the Free State Project when in 2014 he used his radio show to advocate lowering the age of consent for sexual relations.
