CONCORD – The House Republican Caucus voted Friday to nominate Acting House Speaker Sherm Packard, R-Londonderry, as the nominee to serve as Speaker of the House to succeed the late Speaker Dick Hinch, who died last week from COVID-19.

Also on Friday, state Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, was appointed by Senate President Chuck Morse of Salem to serve as Majority Leader for the 2021-2022 biennium.

“Congratulations to Sherm Packard on his nomination to serve as Speaker by the House Republican Caucus,” said Gov. Chris Sununu in a news release. “As Speaker, Sherm will keep the Republican Caucus united, carry on Dick Hinch’s incredible legacy of service, and work with Senate President Chuck Morse to deliver results for the people of New Hampshire.”

Packard said: “I’d like to thank the Republican caucus for putting their trust in me and electing me to be their nominee for Speaker of the New Hampshire House, and I would like to thank Rep. Al Baldasaro and Rep. Tim Lang for a respectful campaign.

“I know I can speak for everyone when I say I never expected to be in this position. Losing Speaker Hinch has been difficult for all of us, and this is not my first choice of how I wanted this session to go. However, we must continue our work, we must continue his work, and I promise that I will continue to further Dick’s vision of how he would have run the House.”

The New Year will mean incredible challenges for lawmakers in Concord,” said Morse in a news release. “I will rely on Jeb’s tremendous legislative experience as well as his political skills to help navigate our upcoming session and to help make it a success. He has done a great job in this position before so I am confident that he will do so again.”

    Bradley said, “It is a privilege to be asked by the Senate President to serve as his majority leader. I truly enjoy working with him and the rest of my colleagues.  The citizens of New Hampshire deserve our very best efforts and I plan to work closely with Sen. Morse to make certain that we deliver real results.”

      Sen. Bradley has served in the Senate since 2009 representing District 3 and previously served as majority leader.  During the upcoming session, he is the chairman of Health & Human Services and the Rules Committees, vice-chair of Capital Budget and a member of Commerce. From 2003-2006, Bradley served in the U.S. Congress and in New Hampshire’s House of Representatives from 1991-2002.