Speaker of the House Sherman Packard, who was picked by his caucus to retain the gavel for another two years, was first elected to the State House in 1990. Next year will be his 17th term in the legislature, many of them as part of the leadership.
Deputy minority leader Rep. Alexis Simpson (D-Exeter), viewed as the frontrunner to be chosen as the Democrats’ leader in the House on Thursday, was just elected to her fourth term.
One of Simpson’s challengers for the leadership post, Alicia Gregg of Nashua, was just reelected to her second term. And the third candidate, 21-year-old Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough), wasn’t even born when Packard first became a House member.
That disparity in experience could be a valuable asset to House Republicans, who already enjoy the benefit of a 222 to 178 majority, their largest since the 2016 election.
And the experience gap isn’t exclusive to the House. State Sen. Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry), her fellow Republicans’ choice to replace outgoing Senate President Jeb Bradley, spent eight years in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2008.
Senate Democrats replaced their leader — Sen. Donna Soucy (D-Manchester), who suffered a humiliating loss last week at the hands of Sen.-elect Victoria Sullivan — with Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka of Portsmouth. She was first elected to the Senate in 2020.
Even the incoming Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte, has an unusual level of political experience for a first term governor, having served as state attorney general and spent six years as a U.S. senator. In fact, Ayotte is the first woman in U.S. history to be elected governor after having been elected to the Senate.
Carson told NHJournal her experience, both as a legislator and working with her fellow Londonderry legislator, will be an asset.
“I’ve known Sherm for 30 years. We’ve worked together in the State House, we’ve worked together on local issues in Londonderry,” Carson said. “He does a great job, and we’re going to need to work together with everything we have to deal with this session. But I’m confident we’ll get it done.”
Sen. Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead), her caucus’ choice for majority leader, echoed the message that the legislature is facing a tough year ahead.
“We’ve got a lot of challenges, we really have to get right to work. We’ve got the YDC (Youth Development Center) issue, we’ve got the education funding issue, and of course the budget.”
Several State House insiders from both sides of the aisle mentioned the upcoming budget, which is expected to include a $500 million gap between revenues and spending, as the top issue on the minds of legislators. The 2022 budget was expected to be a brawl, but ended up being passed without a major battle. “That’s because they were spending,” one veteran lobbyist told NHJournal on background. “This year they will be cutting. It’s a big difference.”
The question is what role Democrats will play in this year’s budget debate? Will they follow their gubernatorial nominee Joyce Craig’s example and call for higher taxes? Will they propose the same income tax on interest and dividends she touted? Will they push for more state money to K-12 education, despite declining enrollment and per-pupil spending that’s already above $20,000?
Outgoing Democratic leader Rep. Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester), who is leaving the post in the wake of his party’s brutal performance in last week’s elections, is backing Simpson in the leadership race. “If you get a vote tomorrow, I hope you’ll cast yours for Alexis so we can keep fighting for our values and for our future,” he posted on Twitter/X.
But with Republicans holding a solid majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate, Democrats are going to struggle for relevancy regardless of who they put in charge.
“When voters went to the polls last Tuesday in record numbers to make their voice heard, House Republicans caucused today to make sure we listened,” House Majority Leader Rep. Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) said Wednesday.
“I am pleased that the House Republican majority is ready to keep scoring big wins for Granite Staters. Now is the time to unite as House Republicans behind Speaker Sherm Packard once again to deliver on unfinished caucus priorities like universal school choice and right to work, as well as the priorities delivered to us by the people in the Contract with New Hampshire.”
Several Republicans pointed out that deep-red Londonderry is home to two of the top leaders in the State House, while Manchester now has none.
“Maybe Ayotte should open a ‘southern governor’s office’ to be closer to the center of power,” one Republican joked.
“Oh, we don’t have the money in the budget for that,” responded Carson when she heard the idea. “But maybe we get a special table at the Cracker Barrel where the three of us can meet for coffee.”
