Meet your candidates
for State House:
Justin Packard
Linda McGrath
Tackling skyrocketing costs
Across New Hampshire, rising costs are forcing families to make hard choices — and pushing young Granite Staters to leave the state for college or jobs elsewhere. Justin Packard is working to lower costs so families can afford to stay, raise their kids, and build a future here, by fighting back against corporate greed and corruption. He’s working to stop corporations and out-of-state interests from shifting more of the tax burden onto homeowners and renters, while prioritizing affordable, accessible childcare and housing, and lowering the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs.
Justin Packard is also working to crack down on corporate price gouging, tax giveaways to big corporations and billionaires that the rest of us end up paying for, and surveillance pricing, where companies use customers’ personal data to charge different prices for the same products. He’s working to make sure Granite Staters can afford the basics–like food, energy, and housing — and have enough left over to save for dignified retirement.
Linda McGrath is making the affordability crisis worse. She has fast-tracked tax cuts for wealthy corporations and out-of-state billionaires instead of helping working families struggling with rising housing, healthcare, and childcare costs — leaving local communities to make up the difference through higher property taxes.
Linda McGrath has also stood by as the Trump administration has increased costs through tariffs, the war in Iran, and devastating Medicaid cuts that could put as many as 29,000 Granite Staters at risk of losing health insurance.
Strengthening our schools
Strong public schools are the foundation of strong communities. Justin Packard knows that when the state fully funds education, local school districts don't have to fire teachers, cut after-school programs, or raise property taxes just to cover the gap. In every corner of New Hampshire, students deserve access to high-quality public schools that prepare them for success and reflect the needs of their communities. By investing in education from early childhood through college, Justin Packard is working to keep more young Granite Staters here to learn, work, and build their futures — and to grow the skilled workforce our economy needs.
Linda McGrath has made it harder for kids to get a quality education across New Hampshire. She has pushed to defund already struggling NH public schools and has voted to fire teachers and slash after-school programs, or raise local property taxes to cover the funding gaps she created.
Protecting women’s access to healthcare
Justin Packard understands that decisions about reproductive health care belong to patients and their providers, free from government interference. He supports policies that ensure contraception, fertility care, and abortion care are accessible across New Hampshire.
Linda McGrath repeatedly voted to strip women of their longstanding fundamental right to make decisions about their own health care and bodies and give the government control over their personal medical decisions. She supports extreme policies, which would roll back reproductive rights for Granite Staters and push for politicians to have more say over women’s pregnancies than their doctors do.
Making healthcare more affordable
Every Granite Stater deserves access to affordable, high-quality health care and affordable prescription drugs, at every stage of life. Justin Packard is fighting to lower the cost of health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, protect coverage for the families put at risk by federal Medicaid cuts, and expand access to mental health care and services that let seniors age with dignity close to home. From a child's first checkup to a parent's cancer treatment to a grandparent's home care, Justin Packard is working to make sure the care people need is actually there when they need it.
Linda McGrath voted to slash taxes for wealthy corporations instead of investing in the services communities rely on like health care, while families across New Hampshire struggle with rising health care costs. In the wake of federal Medicare cuts, Linda McGrath failed to step up to protect Granite Stater’s access to health care, threatening health coverage for up to 29,000 people.
Protecting our communities from unregulated AI data centers
Justin Packard wants new data center projects to go through public review — including requiring companies to disclose their water and energy use rather than relying on private non-disclosure agreements — and opposes special tax breaks for data center developers that other businesses don't get. He wants zoning decisions to stay with elected community leaders, not wealthy out-of-state corporations, so each community can balance growth with quality of life.
Linda McGrath pushed legislation to limit towns' abilities to regulate and prevent data center projects, putting decisions about local land, water, and power increasingly out of communities' hands. That legislation would give data center developers — many backed by out-of-state investors — expanded access to New Hampshire's water and electricity without new local oversight.
You should also know:
Linda McGrath wants to erase the vaccine requirements that protect children in schools and day care. She co-sponsored HB1811, repealing childhood immunization requirements for diseases including measles, polio and whooping cough. State health officials warned the proposal could increase outbreaks and leave taxpayers paying for the emergency response.