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First Congressional District Democrat Maura Sullivan has yet to file her personal financial disclosure as required by federal ethics law. The House Ethics Committee confirmed Wednesday that the financial filing, which was originally due by May 15, has not yet been filed.

Sullivan’s campaign says it’s a mere oversight, but political observers say it’s a rookie mistake for a veteran Democrat who worked in the Obama administration and ran in the NH-01 primary in 2018.

Every candidate for Congress is required to file a Personal Financial Disclosure (PFD) with the House Ethics Committee. The disclosure provides voters with transparency about the financial interests, income, and potential conflicts of interest of potential members of Congress.

In early May, Sullivan asked the House Committee on Ethics for a 90-day extension on the filing deadline for her PFD. The deadline was pushed back to August 13. Sullivan missed that deadline as well.

On Wednesday, Sullivan’s spokesman Nick London acknowledged she has still not filed the report.

“In taking the time necessary to collect all the materials necessary to file an accurate report, the campaign missed the filing deadline. We own that. It will be submitted as soon as possible. It won’t happen again,” London told NHJournal.

Republicans are asking why Sullivan hasn’t filed this standard disclosure, suggesting she has something to hide.

“Democrat Maura Sullivan refuses to give New Hampshire voters basic transparency. Granite Staters deserve to know what she’s hiding because the last thing they want is just another radical politician playing by her own rules,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole told NHJournal.

The personal financial information in PFDs is required under several statutes passed by Congress to address ethical misbehavior: the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (EIGA), the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), and most recently, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act).

The latter was passed due to concerns that members, allegedly including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), were profiting off inside information members of Congress gathered as part of the job.

This failure to file isn’t the first stumble of Sullivan’s 2026 campaign.

The first prominent Democrat to enter the race after incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas announced he was running for U.S. Senate, Sullivan labeled herself a “lifelong Granite Stater.” In fact, Sullivan was born in Evanston, Ill., attended Northwestern University, served abroad in the Marines, and worked in the Obama administration. She didn’t move to New Hampshire until weeks before she entered the 2018 primary, earning her the label “carpetbagger.”

Sullivan also sparked controversy when she posted a photo with a supporter displaying an “86 47” sign — shorthand for “Kill Donald Trump.”

At the same time, veteran political operatives say Sullivan, 45, has the skills and resources to mount a serious challenge to presumed frontrunner Stefany Shaheen, daughter of outgoing U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. In particular, they note her fundraising prowess. In 2018, she raised around $1.5 million, more than the eventual winner, Pappas. And she’s currently leading Shaheen in the fundraising race, despite Stefany Shaheen’s family connections. (Shaheen’s four children, including a son who was in high school, reportedly donated the max to her campaign.)

Other Democrats in the NH-01 primary include:

• Carleigh Beriont, a Harvard Kennedy School professor and Hampton select board member.

• Sarah E. Chadzynski, a nonprofit director from Lyndeborough, N.H.

• Heath Howard, a two-term New Hampshire House member from Strafford who describes himself as “a member of the disability community”

• Christian Urrutia, an attorney, former Pentagon special counsel, and captain in the National Guard

Cook Political Report rates the district as “Likely Democrat” in 2026, and Democrats have won the seat in six of the past seven cycles. Still, Republicans are hopeful the surge of working-class voters into the GOP can help them pick up the seat next year.

Is the state’s new commission studying the charitable gaming industry dealing from the bottom of the deck?

The new state budget that took effect in July created the Commission To Study The Effect Of Recent Changes Made To Charitable Gaming Laws, which held its first meeting Monday morning. Eyebrows were raised when the commission picked Rep. Laurie Sanborn (R-Bedford) as its chair, despite her and her husband operating the Concord Casino since 2018.

“I think Laurie’s a lovely person, but I don’t think she’s the right person to lead this commission,” commission member Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester) told NHJournal. Though he could not attend its first meeting, he said he urged other members to take actions that would be viewed as fair and transparent to the public.

“It should not be chaired by a player in the gaming industry,” D’Allesandro said.

Unlike nearly every New Hampshire state government public hearing, the commission’s meeting was not broadcast on streaming video.

Sanborn did not respond to a request for comment.

Commission member Rep. Fred Doucette (R-Salem) nominated Sanborn for the chair. She sees no problem overseeing a commission that is expected to propose changes to the gambling industry, even with her stake in the casino.

“Anything can seem like a conflict of interest depending on how you look at it,” Doucette said.

He said Sanborn brings an insider’s perspective about the casino business to her role, which will be an asset to the commission. Other legislative committees and commissions include members and chairs involved in the industries they oversee, he said.

“We’re a volunteer legislature, and we have to draw from the knowledge and expertise we have at hand,” Doucette said.

Sen. Tim Lang (R-Sanborton), another commission member, told NHJournal that Sanborn declared her conflict before being nominated, as House rules require. Lang said Sanborn got on the commission in the first place because House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) appointed her.

“The speaker knew Laurie’s background and chose to appoint her to the commission,” Lang said.

Packard did not respond to a request for comment.

Other members of the commission:

• Attorney General John Formella
• Rep. John Janigian (R-Salem)
• Rep. Benjamin Baroody (D-Manchester)
• Rep. Richard Ames (D-Jaffrey)
• NH Lottery Director Charles McIntyre
• Aaron Gomes, COO Peninsula Pacific Entertainment
• Norman Roberge, treasurer of the Concord Lions Club
• Giovanna Bonilla, director of events and partnerships with the Boston Billiards Club and Casino

New Hampshire allows casinos under its charitable gaming rules which limits how much players can bet and requires casinos to donate 35 percent of the house take to New Hampshire charities. The state keeps 10 percent of the revenue.

The state raised the limit on maximum single-play bets from $10 to $50 in this year’s budget as part of legislation that created the study commission. The commission will look at issues that could impact casino operations and how much charitable groups can expect in donations.

And because state revenues are at stake, some people who attended Monday’s meeting raised questions about who, if anyone, would be advocating on behalf of the taxpayers.

“I saw the casinos and I saw the charities, this is their commission. But where were the taxpayers? ” one person in attendance who asked to speak on background told NHJournal.

The commission is also expected to review the rent charities pay to the operators’ establishments that house them. This rent payment can lower the charity’s take, reducing the amount of charitable donations. Concord Casino is located in The Draft Sports Bar, also owned by the Sanborns. According to records filed with the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office, the Draft and Concord Casino are separate business entities.

The commission is also tasked with studying how licenses are issued in the state. The commission could recommend limiting new licenses in municipalities where there are already casinos. Andy Sanborn recently won approval from the city of Concord for a new, large-scale, 43,000-square-foot casino, called Image Casino, to be located at the end of Loudon Road.

Former Rep. Edward “Ned” Gordon (R-Bristol), who still chairs the Legislative Ethics Committee, would not comment on Sanborn’s chairmanship. The Legislative Ethics Committee only gets involved in issues where a complaint is filed.

“The Ethics Committee is not a police force,” he said.

New Hampshire has different ethical standards for different types of officials. For example, someone in the executive branch is barred from overseeing an industry in which they or a spouse has a financial interest. And under rules for the judiciary, judges must recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses could benefit.

However, Laurie Sanborn’s leadership of the study commission does not necessarily violate House rules for legislators. The rules require legislators to file a declaration of intent when there is a conflict of interest. Those declarations must state the nature of the conflict and whether or not the lawmaker plans to vote anyway. Declarations can also be made verbally at meetings.

D’Allesandro said the current standard simply is not good enough.

“If your husband owns a casino, or you and your husband own a casino, that’s a conflict of interest,” D’Allesandro said.

Gordon tried and failed to get the conflict of interest rules changed for legislators. He sponsored 2020’s HB 1694, which would have forced legislators to recuse themselves where there is a conflict of interest similar to the Sanborn’s. Gordon’s bill died in the Senate.

The Image Casino proposal is now the subject of a lawsuit. A dozen city residents filed an appeal in the Merrimack Superior Court of the city Planning Board’s approval for the casino. The appeal claims the Planning Board voted to approve the project without proper public notice.