The Democratic leader in the state senate said he believes the 2016 election showed his party needs to go in a different, more progressive direction.
“All the smart people in the Democratic Party were wrong in 2016,” said N.H. Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn of Whitefield in a Monitor editorial board meeting. “Growing the party, being openminded, being progressive and being bold is what we need to do, and we have not been. We cannot win this next election in 2018 by taking the Republican-lite approach.”
Though Democrats won all four seats in the Congressional delegation, local races presented a much more dismal result for the party.
Democrats ceded control of the governor’s office for the first time in 12 years, and Republicans retained majorities in both houses of the state Legislature and the Executive Council.
Democratic leaders say they are looking ahead to working on bipartisan goals such as providing more state aid to school districts, offering full-day kindergarten and ensuring the future of Medicaid expansion, while fighting against Republican-led measures like repealing concealed carry permits and passing right-to-work legislation.
“We’re learning a new dance,” Woodburn said. “The Republican caucus is much more conservative than it has been in the last 30 years. Quite frankly, this Trump stuff doesn’t help. It creates a very hostile environment.”
Concealed carry and right-to-work measures have already passed the house and have backing from Gov. Chris Sununu.
Woodburn, Concord Sen. Dan Feltes and House Minority Leader Steve Shurtleff of Penacook said they believe concealed carry will pass the House, but they are optimistic that right-to-work legislation will fail.
“We’re hopefully optimistic,” Shurtleff said, adding he’s been stopped in the hallway by some Republicans saying they don’t see the need for the legislation.
Voting reform is also poised to be a big issue in the Legislature, with bills focused on tightening the definition of a person’s domicile, which allows them to register to vote in New Hampshire.
Feltes said he is concerned bills like this will disproportionately target college students who register to vote in the town they go to school rather than their hometown.
“It’s not a very good marketing strategy to say, ‘Come to New Hampshire, where we will disenfranchise your vote,’ ” Feltes said. “That is not a good message to send to our neighboring states and the rest of the country when that is the intent of that legislation.”
All three Democrats said legislation that encourages young people to move to New Hampshire and stay here is crucial.
Woodburn, who represents the less-populated and aging North Country, called the lack of young people “the biggest problem facing this state.”
Woodburn said his party will continue advocating for an agenda with young generations in mind, including lower college tuition costs and less stringent marijuana laws.
In addition to the decriminalization bill being considered this session, Woodburn is introducing legislation for a study committee to legalize marijuana, with a firm date for legalization in 2020.
“We need to have sane marijuana laws if we want to attract this group of people,” he said.
Feltes is focused on legislation that adds money to the state’s fund for affordable housing. He said historically, the state has made stingy contributions to its fund, especially compared to New England states Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts.
Since the fund’s inception in the 1990s, lawmakers have deposited about $13 million, Feltes said. Comparatively, Massachusetts provided more than $1 billion for affordable housing in 2015 alone.
“People can’t find places to live and rent, and if they do, it’s pretty far to work,” Feltes said. “We’re facing a housing emergency in New Hampshire and it’s a workforce issue.”
(Ella Nilsen can be reached at 369-3322, enilsen@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @ella_nilsen.)