New Hampshire General Election 2020

To help inform voters about their options in the election, MPP sent the following three survey questions to candidates for state Senate. The voter guide below is based on their responses, public statements, and votes cast by incumbent legislators. If a candidate in your district has not taken a public position, we strongly encourage you to ask them these questions yourself! We would be happy to update the voter guide with their answers (please email msimon@mpp.org with any updates).

(1) Eleven states, including all three states neighboring New Hampshire, have passed laws making cannabis possession legal for adults. Do you support making it legal for adults 21 and older to possess cannabis for personal use in New Hampshire?

(2) Massachusetts, Maine, and eight other states have passed laws creating legal, regulated markets for adult-use cannabis. Do you support licensing, regulating, and taxing businesses so they can produce and sell cannabis to adults 21 and older?

(3) All three neighboring states and Canada allow adults 21 and older to cultivate their own limited supply of cannabis for personal use. Do you support allowing adults to grow their own cannabis for personal use in New Hampshire?

Color key:

Green = supports legalizing cannabis for adults’ use

Orange = unknown, uncertain, or less supportive

Red = opposed or much less supportive

Note: The Senate did not vote on any adult-use legalization bills in 2019-2020, in part because the session was derailed by COVID-19. The only meaningful roll call votes in the Senate were on a medical cannabis home cultivation bill (HB 364) in 2019, which passed the House and Senate but was vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu. The House overwhelmingly voted to override the veto, but the effort fell three votes of the required two-thirds majority in the Senate.

If you’re not sure which Senate district you live in, find out here.

Complete List of Candidates for State Senate:

State Senate District 1 (“the north country”)

Rep. Erin Hennessey (R-Littleton) — voted no on HB 481 (adult-use legalization and regulation) in 2019 and yes on HB 1648 (legalizing possession and cultivation for adults) in 2020. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Rep. Susan Ford (D-Easton), who voted yes on HB 481 (adult-use legalization and regulation) in 2019 and yes on HB 1648 (legalizing possession and cultivation for adults) in 2020. (website) (Facebook)
Note: The incumbent, Sen. David Starr, was defeated by Hennessey in the Republican primary.

State Senate District 2 (Alexandria, Ashland, Bridgewater, Bristol, Campton, Center Harbor, Danbury, Dorchester, Ellsworth, Grafton, Groton, Haverhill, Hebron, Hill, Holderness, Meredith, New Hampton, Orange, Orford, Piermont, Plymouth, Rumney, Sanbornton, Tilton, Warren, Wentworth, and Wilmot)

Sen. Bob Giuda (R-Warren) has led efforts to block cannabis legalization in the Senate. He voted no on the decriminalization bill that became law in 2017, and he voted no on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019. He helped organize multiple press conferences in opposition to the legalization bill in 2019. (website) (Facebook)
Bill Bolton (D-Plymouth), who responded yes to MPP’s survey questions expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. He responded undecided/need more information to the question about taxing and regulating cannabis. Survey comment: “I would prefer ‘grow your own’, and if there is a bill to allow regulated markets, then I would prefer state control and sale through state liquor stores.” (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Note: This is a rematch from 2018, when Giuda defeated Bolton by 751 votes in the 2018 general election.

State Senate District 3 (Albany, Bartlett, Brookfield, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Effingham, Freedom, Hale's Location, Hart's Location, Jackson, Madison, Middleton, Milton, Moultonborough, Ossipee, Sandwich, Tamworth, Tuftonboro, Wakefield, Waterville Valley, and Wolfeboro)

Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) voted yes on decriminalization bills in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and played a key role in the final compromise (e.g. the decision to set the threshold at three-quarters of an ounce in the bill that became law). He also vocally supported medical cannabis legislation in 2012 and 2013 and voted yes on those bills — again, playing a key role in the final compromise. Sadly, although he had supported a bill allowing home cultivation of cannabis in 2012 (SB 409), he opposed medical cannabis home cultivation bills as a member of the Senate Health Committee in 2019 (HB 364) and 2020 (SB 420), and he has not supported legalization. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Theresa Swanick (D-Effingham) indicated support for legalization in a survey administered by Citizens Count. Her comment: "I believe recreational use of cannabis should be legalized, regulated and taxed, for health reasons, including the fight against opiate addiction (it can prevent use of opiates and can be a gateway off of opiate addiction), to conserve costs of policing, arresting, jailing, trying offenders, and for revenue to fight the opiate epidemic and to more fairly fund education." (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)

State Senate District 4 (Barrington, Dover, Rollinsford, and Somersworth)

Sen. David Watters (D-Dover) voted yes on the decriminalization bill that became law in 2017 and yes on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019. He responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Frank Bertone (R-Barrington) supports legalizing cannabis. According to Citizens Count, he posted "Vote Frank Bertone for recreational marijuana" on his Facebook page in 2018. (Facebook)

State Senate District 5 (Canaan, Charlestown, Claremont, Cornish, Enfield, Hanover, Lebanon, Lyme, and Plainfield)

Suzanne Prentiss (D-Lebanon) responded favorably to the question “Should NH legalize the recreational use of marijuana?” on a candidate survey administered by Citizens Count. Her comment: “With proper addiction programs put in place at the same time." (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Timothy O'Hearne (R-Charlestown) has not responded to MPP’s candidate survey and is not known to have taken a public stance on cannabis policy reform.

State Senate District 6 (Alton, Barnstead, Farmington, Gilmanton, New Durham and Rochester)

Sen. Jim Gray (R-Rochester) voted no on decriminalization bills in 2015 and 2016 as a member of the House and voted yes in 2017 as a senator when the bill became law. He opposed medical cannabis home cultivation bills as a member of the Senate Health Committee in 2019 (HB 364) and 2020 (SB 420), and he has not supported legalization. (website) (Facebook)
Christopher Rice (D-Rochester) responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)

State Senate District 7 (Andover, Belmont, Boscawen, Canterbury, Franklin, Gilford, Laconia, Northfield, Salisbury, and Webster)

Sen. Harold French (R-Franklin) voted yes on decriminalization bills as a member of the House in 2015 and 2016 and as a senator in 2017 when the bill became law. He voted yes on the medical cannabis home cultivation bill in 2019 (HB 364), and he was quoted in the Concord Monitor in 2019 expressing support for HB 648 (adult-use legalization and regulation) — although he said the bill needed more work before he could vote for it. (website) (Facebook)

Philip Spagnuolo (D-Laconia) responded yes to MPP’s survey questions expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis and taxing and regulating cannabis. In response to the question about allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home, he answered “no, but I would support allowing cultivation by patients and caregivers who are registered with the therapeutic cannabis program.” Survey comments: (1) “The harsh drug laws that have outsized punishments for small amounts of cannabis are outdated and not beneficial in keeping our communities safe. Legalizing small amounts of cannabis would allow more resources to be directed towards prevention, treatment, and recovery programs that would benefit the community at large.” (2) “I support this so long it is local farmers and local businesses that are benefiting from the legalization. It is imperative that we ensure that large, out of state corporations do not swoop in and treat New Hampshire and Granite Staters as means to drive profit while the local communities have no benefit.” (Facebook) (Twitter)

State Senate District 8 (Acworth, Antrim, Bennington, Bradford, Croydon, Deering, Francestown, Goshen, Grantham, Hillsborough, Langdon, Lempster, Marlow, New London, Newbury, Newport, Springfield, Stoddard, Sunapee, Sutton, Unity, Washington, Weare, and Windsor)

Sen. Ruth Ward (R-Stoddard) voted no on the decriminalization bill that became law in 2017. She responded no to all three MPP survey questions in 2018— expressing opposition to allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. However, she noted on the survey that she would be willing to support allowing cultivation by registered patients. Sadly, when the medical cannabis home cultivation bill came to a vote in 2019 (HB 364), she voted no. (website) (Facebook)
Jenn Alford-Teaster (D-Bradford) responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. Survey comment: “I support regulating cannabis sales, but we need to make sure we learn from the experiences of other states and create a smart policy that works for New Hampshire.” (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Note: This is a rematch from 2018, when Ward defeated Alford-Teaster by 647 votes in the general election.

State Senate District 9 (Bedford, Dublin, Fitzwilliam, Greenfield, Hancock, Jaffrey, Lyndeborough, Mont Vernon, New Boston, Peterborough, Richmond, Sharon, Temple and Troy)

Sen. Jeanne Dietsch (D-Peterborough) voted yes on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019. She responded yes to MPP’s survey questions expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis and taxing and regulating cannabis. In response to the question about allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home, she answered “no, but I would support allowing cultivation by patients and caregivers who are registered with the therapeutic cannabis program.” Survey comment: “I support licensing, regulating and taxing producers. Regarding distribution, I believe that cannabis should be a controlled substance sold through NH liquor stores, since these already have the structures in place to protect against underage purchase. This cannot happen until cannabis is legalized at the federal level, since most liquor store transactions occur with credit cards, and the state cannot sell an illegal substance.” (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Denise Ricciardi (R-Bedford) ) responded “against” to a question about cannabis legalization on a survey administered by Citizens Count. (website) (Facebook)

State Senate District 10 (Alstead, Chesterfield, Gilsum, Harrisville, Hinsdale, Keene, Marlborough, Nelson, Roxbury, Sullivan, Surry, Swanzey, Walpole, Westmoreland, and Winchester)

Sen. Jay Kahn (D-Keene) voted yes on the decriminalization bill that became law in 2017. He voted yes on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019 and spoke in favor of a similar bill (SB 420) in 2020. He responded yes to MPP’s survey questions expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. He responded undecided/need more information to the question about taxing and regulating cannabis. Survey comment: “Unlicensed sale should carry fines and criminal penalties. Taxable revenue should be applied toward SUD services and education. Amounts grown for personal use should be limited.” (website) (Facebook)
Daniel LeClair (R-Swanzey) responded to a survey administered by Citizens Count as follows: "I am in favor of medical use of marijuana. I want to be able to do more research and studying of marijuana legalization to make sure it has more benefits NH citizens than drawbacks." (website)

State Senate District 11 (Amherst, Merrimack, Milford, and Wilton)

Sen. Shannon Chandley (D-Amherst) voted yes on the decriminalization bill that became law in 2017 as a member of the House and voted yes on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019 as a senator. She has not supported legalization, but she is much more open to considering the idea than her opponent. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Former Sen. Gary Daniels (R-Milford) voted no on decriminalization bills in 2015 and 2016. As a state representative, he voted no on medical cannabis legislation in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013. In 2016, he spoke on the Senate floor against decriminalization. “We are in a war, and the last thing we need is to tell our citizens that it's OK to use a little marijuana or any other illegal substance,” he said. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Note: This is a rematch from 2018, when Chandley defeated Daniels by 1,156 votes in the general election.

State Senate District 12 (Brookline, Greenville, Hollis, Mason, New Ipswich, Rindge, and Nashua wards 1, 2, and 5)

Sen. Melanie Levesque (D-Brookline) voted yes on medical cannabis bills in 2009 and 2013 as a member of the House, and last year she voted yes on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation). She responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Former Sen. Kevin Avard (R-Nashua) voted yes on decriminalization bills in 2015, 2016, and 2017. As a member of the House in 2011, he voted in support of a legalization bill, but his views seemed to change when he was elected to the Senate. In 2017, as a member of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, he voted no on a medical cannabis home cultivation bill (HB 472), and he did not support legalization as a senator. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Note: This is a rematch from 2018, when Levesque defeated Avard by 169 votes in the general election.

State Senate District 13 (Nashua wards 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9)

Sen. Cindy Rosewald (D-Nashua) voted yes on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019. As a member of the House (2004-2018), she voted yes on medical cannabis bills and decriminalization bills but she did not support legalization. She responded yes to MPP’s survey question expressing support for taxing and regulating cannabis and commented “with a strong regulatory package only.” She responded undecided/need more information to the question about allowing adults to use cannabis. In response to the question about allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home, she answered “no, but I would support allowing cultivation by patients and caregivers who are registered with the therapeutic cannabis program.” (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Former Rep. Mariellen MacKay (R-Nashua) voted yes on the medical cannabis bill that became law in 2013 and the decriminalization bill that became law in 2017. She responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. (Facebook) (Twitter)

State Senate District 14 (Auburn, Hudson and Londonderry)

Nancy Hendricks (D-Londonderry) has not responded to MPP’s candidate survey and is not known to have taken a public stance on cannabis policy reform. (Facebook)
Sen. Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) has strongly opposed all medical cannabis, decriminalization, and legalization bills throughout her career. (website) (Facebook)

State Senate District 15 (Concord, Hopkinton, Henniker and Warner)

Becky Whitley (D-Hopkinton) responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. Survey comments: (1) “I support legalizing cannabis with commonsense policies to advance public health. Cannabis prohibition has not stopped cannabis use or sales. Instead, it has fueled a black market, perpetuated the false theory that we can and should treat substance misuse by penalizing it, and contributed to mass incarceration. A black Granite Stater is four times more likely than a white Granite Stater to be arrested and jailed for marijuana possession. New Hampshire has rightfully undertaken a phased-in approach on cannabis, starting with therapeutic cannabis and continuing by decriminalizing small amounts. These policies have worked, and I believe it is time to legalize cannabis.” (2) “My first priority is the health and prosperity of Granite State families. Legalizing cannabis can and should be coupled with strong public health protections that reduce harms, help prevent substance misuse, protect youth from harmful effects, and ensure social equity. We can simultaneously end prohibition and advance commonsense policies that avert misuse. This includes setting the legal age for cannabis at 21 and regulating the sale of cannabis products. Because New Hampshire has limited sources of revenue, taxing cannabis cultivation and sales could be an important new source of revenue for the state. Similar to the regulation of alcohol in New Hampshire, at least 10% of revenue from cannabis cultivation and sales should go towards prevention, treatment and recovery programs for substance misuse.” (3) “Allowing adults to grow their own cannabis for personal use must be coupled with restrictions on gifting and in particular, prohibitions on gifts to anyone under 21 and limits on the amount that can be gifted. There should also be limits on the amount that can be cultivated for personal use to ensure it does not undermine the regulated retail market.” (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Linda Rae Banfill (R-Concord) has not responded to MPP’s candidate survey and is not known to have taken a public stance on cannabis policy reform.

State Senate District 16, no contested primaries (Bow, Candia, Dunbarton, Hooksett, and Manchester Wards 1, 2 and 12)

Sen. Kevin Cavanaugh (D-Hooksett) voted yes on the decriminalization bill 2017. In 2019, he voted yes on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) when the bill was first considered, but then he changed his position and voted to uphold the governor’s veto. He indicated that he was undecided on legalization in a 2017 survey administered by Citizens Count. (website) (Twitter) (Facebook)

Jason Syverson (R-Dunbarton) has not responded to MPP’s candidate survey and is not known to have taken a public stance on cannabis policy reform. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)

State Senate District 17 (Allenstown, Chichester, Deerfield, Epsom, Loudon, Northwood, Nottingham, Pembroke, Pittsfield, Raymond, and Strafford)

Sen. John Reagan (R-Deerfield) has strongly supported medical cannabis, decriminalization, and legalization bills throughout his long career in the House and Senate. He responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. (website)

Nancy Fraher (D-Chichester) has not responded to MPP’s candidate survey and has not supported legalization in her past campaigns. (Twitter)

State Senate District 18 (Litchfield and Manchester Wards 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9)

Former Rep. George Lambert (R-Manchester) voted yes on medical cannabis, decriminalization, and legalization bills as a member of the House (2010-2014). He responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. Survey comment: “I would prefer non-regulation for businesses to grow, harvest and sell custom products.” (website)
Senate President Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) voted yes on the decriminalization bill that became law in 2017, but voted no on a similar bill in 2016. She voted no on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019 and voted to uphold the governor’s veto of that bill. She has not supported legalization. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Note: Soucy defeated Lambert by 2,210 votes in 2018.

State Senate District 19 (Derry, Hampstead and Windham)

Sen. Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead) voted yes on the decriminalization bill in 2017, but she voted no on the medical cannabis home cultivation bill in 2019 (HB 364) and voted to uphold the governor’s veto of that bill. She opposes legalization. (website) (Facebook)
Joshua Bourdon (D-Derry) responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)

State Senate District 20 (Goffstown and Manchester wards 3, 4, 10 and 11)

Carla Gericke (R-Manchester) responded yes to all three MPP survey questions in 2016 — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. Survey comments: “I believe marijuana should not be regulated at all, but barring that solution, I can live with it being regulated. Ideally, marijuana would be treated like a tomato, not alcohol.” (website)
Sen. Lou D'Allesandro (D-Manchester), who has a mixed record of voting both for and against medical cannabis and decriminalization bills. He voted no on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019 and voted to uphold the governor’s veto of that bill. He has not supported legalization. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Note: This is a rematch from 2018, when D'Allesandro defeated Gericke by 2,856 votes in the general election.

State Senate District 21, contested Democratic primary (Durham, Lee, Madbury, Newfields, Newington, Newmarket, and Portsmouth)

Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D-Portsmouth) responded yes to all three MPP survey questions — expressing support for allowing adults to use cannabis, taxing and regulating cannabis, and allowing adults to cultivate cannabis at home. Survey comments: “I understand the racist history of the war of drugs, as well as the tax revenue possibilities of the cannabis industry. I also know that many people link marijuana to other more dangerous drugs and the opioid epidemic, which is not corroborated by scientific evidence. Therefore, I support a pathway to marijuana legalization that includes decriminalization, expungement of marijuana-related charges, and an information campaign about marijuana and its relationship to other drugs. Cannabis growth for personal use must be coupled with policy restrictions on cannabis gifting, to make sure that cannabis will not be gifted to those under 21. As we create a market for cannabis through legalization, we also need to also ensure that personal cannabis growth does not undermine the market.” (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Sue Polidura (R-Portsmouth) does not support legalization.

State Senate District 22 (Atkinson, Pelham, Plaistow and Salem)

Sen. Chuck Morse (R-Salem) has opposed all medical cannabis, decriminalization, and legalization bills that have been considered by the Senate throughout his long career. (website)
Thomas Haynes (D-Salem) has not responded to MPP’s candidate survey and is not known to have taken a public stance on cannabis policy reform. (website) (Facebook)

State Senate District 23 (Brentwood, Chester, Danville, East Kingston, Epping, Exeter, Fremont, Kingston, and Sandown)

Former Sen. Bill Gannon (R-Sandown) has strongly opposed all sensible cannabis policy reforms throughout his time in the House and Senate. He spoke against the decriminalization bill on the House floor in 2015. In an interview with a Manchester radio station on July 1 (second audio clip, begins at 14:12 mark), he bragged about his role in defeating a decriminalization bill. “I have been really tough on marijuana,” he told the interviewer. As a senator in 2017, he voted against the decriminalization bill and spoke on the Senate floor against the legalization bill. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Sen. Jon Morgan (D-Brentwood)voted for HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) in 2019. He has expressed support for adult-use legalization and regulation, but has also expressed concerns about how cannabis should best be regulated. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Note: This is a rematch from 2018, when Morgan defeated Gannon by 105 votes in the general election.

State Senate District 24 (Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Kensington, New Castle, North Hampton, Newton, Rye, Seabrook, Stratham, and South Hampton)

Lou Gargiulo (R-Hampton Falls) expressed openness to the idea of legalization in an op-ed: “Legalize and tax marijuana? Let’s talk about it,” he wrote. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)
Sen. Tom Sherman (D-Rye). He voted yes on the medical cannabis bill in 2013 and the decriminalization bill in 2015 as a member of the House. In 2019, he voted yes on HB 364 (medical cannabis home cultivation) and spoke on the Senate floor in favor. He expressed support for legalization and regulation while HB 481 was being considered in 2019 and offered to help work out a compromise on the bill. (website) (Facebook) (Twitter)