Voters heading to the polls on Sept. 8 for the state primary will choose candidates from a list of races on the ballot, including one that rarely gets much attention, even though it shapes the outcome of almost every arrest in the state: county attorney.
After police make an arrest, the county attorney decides whether to prosecute or to decide that the case can move through treatment courts, such as mental health court, drug court, or family court, which offer alternatives to incarceration.
During the two-year term, every county attorney handles prosecution of criminal cases, from domestic violence and drug trafficking to murder.
In Merrimack County, three candidates — Meg Hagaman, Sarah Rogers and Jon Raiche — are running in the Republican primary. The winner will compete with Democrat Steve Endres, who is unopposed Tuesday in the Democratic primary.
Meg Hagaman
Hagaman, a longtime prosecutor, has spent nearly half her career as a county prosecutor and half as a state prosecutor. She served in the state Attorney General’s Office, rising to Criminal Justice Bureau Chief and overseeing statewide prosecution. Her experience includes both courtroom prosecution and leadership in the criminal justice system.
She lives in Bow.
Priorities:
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with law enforcement
- Preparing the office for the future through well-trained, well-managed prosecutors committed to seeking justice for victims, with strong recruitment and mentorship efforts.
- Standing alongside victims and helping them understand what to expect throughout the criminal justice process.
Position on alternatives to incarceration
Hagaman said that, in cases involving violence or serious offenders, the county attorney’s office should ensure those individuals receive the most serious punishments.
But she said that isn’t the case in every situation.
“Diversion and adult recovery court — those statistically can help reduce crime, which is a good thing for the community because the focus should be on public safety and doing what we can to reduce threats or crimes in our community, and those programs can be good when appropriate,” Hagaman said.
Sarah Rogers
Rogers is a former prosecutor with eight years of experience who spent three years with the Merrimack County Attorney’s Office. Since 2024, she has been director of the Division of Enforcement at the Office of Professional Life Insurance Certification. She worked for Court Appointed Special Advocate as an attorney who represented the CASA volunteers in court.
She lives in Concord.
Priorities:
- Ensuring consistent treatment of victims across the office, regardless of which prosecutor handles the case, and engaging victims early by explaining the court process and upcoming hearings.
- Addressing homelessness in Concord by strengthening coordination among lawmakers, law enforcement, and community organizations, rather than relying primarily on privately funded groups.
- Strengthening enforcement of the new bail law by ensuring prosecutors request detention for defendants who pose a public safety risk. According to the law, judges can order that defendants who pose a public safety risk be confined until trial only if prosecutors request it.
- Ensure child abuse offenders face strong and appropriate penalties.
Position on alternatives to incarceration
Rogers supports alternatives to prison whenever appropriate, reserving jail primarily for serious or dangerous offenses and in cases where other interventions have been unsuccessful.
She would also like mental health court to be expanded beyond misdemeanors, giving people who are struggling with mental health or substance use more opportunities for treatment and rehabilitation instead of incarceration.
“Incarceration is really reserved for punishment, usually for people who have already attempted alternatives, or for someone who has committed such a serious, dangerous crime that they need to be separated from society,” she said.
Jon Raiche
Raiche, a New Hampshire native, began his legal career as a public defender in Florida. He then spent six years in private practice before serving seven years as a prosecutor in the Florida Keys. After a nine-month stint with the Merrimack County Attorney’s Office, he joined the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office in 2021, where he now heads the domestic violence unit in Manchester.
He lives in Boscawen.
Priorities:
- Reducing the burden on local taxpayers by providing county prosecutors in district courts to handle misdemeanor cases. Now, police departments often have to hire attorneys or have officers serve as prosecutors.
- Reducing the litigation burden on domestic violence victims by minimizing how often they must relive their experiences, including avoiding multiple trials and prosecutor changes when a case moves from district court to superior court.
- Expanding pretrial diversion options to include voluntary faith-based community programs, giving eligible individuals, especially young people and their families, additional opportunities for rehabilitation and support without incarceration.
Position on alternatives to incarceration
Raiche said programs for people arrested on a drug charge work best when treatment and supervision are kept separate from prosecution and adjudication, with rehabilitation handled by the Department of Corrections rather than the courts or prosecutor’s office.
“Consequences and rehabilitation or reformation go hand in hand,” Raiche said. “If you don’t have a consequence to your crime, there’s there’s a higher level of that person not taking it seriously and those rehabilitative services not working well. I personally think that the DOC is where the state should be focusing on doing the reformations of any offender.”
