Both candidates for the Senate District 7 race — Dan Innis and Rebecca Harned — have touted their commitment to making New Hampshire more affordable, but their ideas on how to get there vary completely.
Innis, the incumbent, and Harned each have had experience in budgeting. Innis currently serves as vice chair on the Finance Committee in the State House, and Harned is in her first term on the Kearsarge Regional School District Budget Committee.
Harned, a research scientist living in Sutton, said she’d like to cut excess spending and spend dollars effectively on the taxpayers’ behalf. Harned also said she’d like to utilize existing tax structures, such as the “sin taxes” on tobacco and alcohol, to fund essential services and eliminate the possibility of bringing a state income or sales tax.
“I do believe that we can do more and do better with the resources that we are already allocating at the state level, and we need to allocate those to achieve better outcomes for our local communities that will help to bring down and lower our property taxes,” she said.
Innis has served in the Senate for three terms, two of which were consecutive. He pointed to his work on education funding, doubling revenue from the rooms and meals tax over the last five years and addressing struggles in the agriculture sector.
The work he especially values, though, is the direct impact on his communities. Innis said he pushed for an appropriation to Webster’s water district for upgrading the pipes and filtration system. He said he also helps out with smaller issues, like calling to clear felled trees.
“That is one of the great things about this job is working with constituents to solve problems,” he said. “The bigger things are trying to balance the budget, make sure we’re meeting the needs of our citizens and continuing to move the state forward.”
Education funding is also top of mind for both candidates. In the Kearsarge Regional School District, the board moved to consider closing Simonds Elementary School in Warner and Sutton Central Elementary School in Sutton, with consolidation to the other elementary schools in Bradford and New London.
House Bill 1374, which goes into effect on Oct. 8, requires that voters in all towns served by a school district vote on the closure of schools. Citizens can put forth a petition that would require a school board to hold a public meeting to vote on the question of discontinuing a school. Innis voted in favor of the bill.
Innis said the maintenance costs of Simonds and Sutton Central have ballooned over the last few decades and may be in the district’s best interest to close the schools and not spend any more money on small classrooms.
“I’m disappointed we’re here, and yet I think a lot of folks are now waking up to the situation and will find a good solution,” He said. “I think the solution is going to be closing a couple elementary schools, and a lot of people don’t like that idea, but when you’ve got classes with seven or eight kids in them, I mean that’s just an awful lot of money to spend.”
Harned said HB 1374 oversteps the state’s role in education, along with HB 1300 proposing a school district tax cap and Education Freedom Accounts, all of which Innis has supported.
She reiterated her platform on fiscal responsibility to taxpayers and said she would reinstate an income cap on Education Freedom Accounts, countering legislation passed in 2025.
“That is one key area where we do differentiate,” Harned said. “It actually reduced local control in both of those cases [HB 1374 and HB 1300] and forced essentially these votes to come up, whether or not they are even the will of the communities, and I think that’s really poignant.”
Innis criticized Harned and the Kearsarge Regional School District for voting to increase the 2026-27 school budget by $1.2 million over the previous year. He said, despite her platform of not introducing new tax systems, he believes the Democratic Party will likely do so if they gain control of the State House.
“My record over the last four years shows people what I’ve done and what I’m likely to continue to do,” he said. “She doesn’t have that record, so she’s got to get out there and tell us how exactly are you going to lower my property taxes.”
The general election will take place on Nov. 3. District 7 covers the towns of Alexandria, Andover, Boscawen, Bradford, Bridgewater, Bristol, Danbury, Franklin, Goshen, Grafton, Hebron, Henniker, Hill, Hillsborough, Newbury, Orange, Salisbury, Sutton, Tilton, Warner, Webster and Wilmot.
