HARRISVILLE — State Rep. Craig Thompson, D-Cheshire 14, announced on Monday, January 6th that he will run for Executive Council District 2, the seat being vacated by Andru Volinsky, a Concord Democrat who is running for governor.
Thompson, in his first term in the House, is a farmer and small business owner from Cheshire County and serves on the House Veterans Affairs and State-Federal Relations Committee.
“My experience on the farm, as a small business owner, and in the NH House makes me unique in this race,” Thompson said. “I have the real-life experience and the State House experience needed on the Executive Council, where I will work for all New Hampshire families from the seacoast to the Connecticut River, from Concord to the rural hill towns and villages like my own.”
In the last legislative session, Thompson co-sponsored bills expanding rural internet and broadband as well as increasing access to dental care for working families.
For the 2020 session, he has sponsored bills to combat the climate crisis and reduce the cost of in-state tuition, make the prison and banking systems work better, and reached across the aisle to find common ground between the parties.
“From the Executive Council, I will lead the fight against climate change and will continue championing creative solutions to the hardest issues facing us today,” Thompson said. “None of us has all the answers, but my legislative priorities in the next House session speak for themselves. With creativity and courage, civility and decency, we can aim higher and do better.”
Over the past decade, Thompson’s Mayfair Farm, a New Hampshire Farm of Distinction, has grown to include distribution throughout New England and is a leader in the rapidly growing agritourism sector.
“As a small business owner, I know how hard it is to start a venture and pursue success, particularly in a tough business like farming and an economy that tilts the field in favor of large corporations. And as a farmer, I know the urgency of climate change first hand. On the Executive Council, I’ll make sure state spending matches our values and I’ll only support nominees for state positions who recognize climate change as the crisis of our time.”
In 2018, Thompson defeated an incumbent Republican in a GOP-leaning district to win his first term in the New Hampshire House. He currently represents six towns in Cheshire County: Harrisivlle, Roxbury, Dublin, Jaffrey, Fitzwilliam and Rindge.