Candidates line up for Speaker of the House

Now that the primary election is over, candidates for state representative are announcing their intentions to run for Speaker of the House.

The Speaker is elected by the whole House of Representatives, but usually the majority party chooses the Speaker in a caucus before the House is in session. 

In 2014 Rep. Shawn Jasper defied those rules and ran for Speaker against his party’s nominee, Rep. Bill O’Brien.  Jasper won with the help of most Democrats and a small number of Republicans.

While Jasper plans to seek re-election as Speaker this year, he faces two Republican challengers: Rep. Laurie Sanborn and Rep. Carol McGuire.

Sanborn has served in the House since 2010.  She identifies business issues as her top priority as a legislator.  Most of the bills she sponsored last session were related to business regulations, taxes, and budgeting.

McGuire has served in the House since 2008.  She has been a member of the Free State Project, a Libertarian community in New Hampshire. She sponsored a wide variety of bills in the last session, from a bill to establish a cash balance retirement plan for public employees, to a bill to decriminalize marijuana.

Rep. Steve Shurtleff is the only Democrat so far to declare his intention to run for Speaker of the House.  Shurtleff has served as a Representative since 2004 and is the current House Democratic Leader.

Who would you choose for Speaker of the House?  Let us know in the comments.