When State Senator Becky Whitley went to law school, she never intended to be a politician.
After she graduated, she moved to New Hampshire and began a career as a disabilities lawyer representing children, families and disabled individuals as they navigated the healthcare system.
Her focus changed when she became a mom and she began to consider how climate change impacts children’s health and the future of generations yet to come.
Whitley was elected two years ago to serve in Senate District 15 – a Democrat-leaning area that covers Concord, Bow and Hopkinton and is running again to keep her seat.
“When this seat opened up, I thought I could bring my experience with system change through litigation, organization and policy,” Whitley said. “It’s also important to have younger folks in the state house and the voice of a working family.”
This election features a rematch from two years ago as Whitley of Hopkinton runs against Republican Linda Rae Banfill of Concord. Whitley won with nearly two-thirds of the votes – 19,462 to Banfill’s 11,243. Banfill could not be reached for this story.
Two years ago, she said the economy was the biggest issue, quoting political strategist James Carville, saying, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
Previously, Banfill ran to be Concord’s mayor, most recently in 2019.
During that campaign, Banfill said that the two most important issues to her were supporting first responders and cracking down on crime.
Banfill has lived in Concord for 45 years and has run for several political positions in the city, but was never elected.
In the state Senate, Whitley said she tries to be a voice for working mothers and working families.
In the last two years, Whitley successfully passed five bills – one was related to reducing the use of restraints on pregnant women in jails, one included educating the legislature on what it takes to raise a family and be a parent and another added a farmers market health incentive program to the SNAP program.
“I will keep working as hard as possible for Granite Staters,” Whitley said. “Young people have the advantage of looking at the world as it is, but envisioning a new way and what we want to see from our generation and the next generation.”
Speaking to her constituents, Whitley said she’s heard from voters who care dearly about reproductive rights and access to abortions, rising energy costs and inflation and access to childcare – all issues Whitley will focus on if re-elected, she said.
Additionally, Whitley is in support of legalizing marijuana and strengthening gun control laws, she said.
“I think it’s a missed opportunity for revenue, particularly being an island in New England where people can easily go to other states but public health protections need to be built into that for kiddos,” Whitley said about legalizing marijuana.
Whitley is open to having more conversations about guns in society, particularly about protecting schools.
“We haven’t, fortunately, had any mass casualties in our schools but we see it happening around the country,” Whitley said. “We need to make sure children aren’t afraid to go to school and there is a lot of gun violence prevention work we need to accomplish in New Hampshire.”
While the state Senate majority has swung back and forth, the District 15 seat has been held by a Democrat for more than 25 years.