I’m running for governor to build a New Hampshire that works for everyone. As a State Senator, I stood up for public schools and students; defended Planned Parenthood; helped to pass marriage equality; advocated for common sense gun safety measures; propelled our state to a clean energy future; sounded the alarm on the opioid epidemic; and fought for working families. I will bring my record of results and vision for the future to the Governor’s office, to build a better New Hampshire for every Granite Stater.

Education & Job Training

Public education is a core tenet of our democracy. Every child should have access to a quality public school education. That’s why I will veto any plan that takes money from our public schools to create a voucher program for private or religious schools.

College is too expensive, and too many young graduates carry too much student loan debt. I will work to make college more affordable to decrease this burden for students and ensure education remains available to everyone.

Jobs & Economy

Corporate profits are breaking records, but too many Granite Staters are being left behind by an agenda that puts special interests ahead of children and families. I’m running for governor to build a New Hampshire that works for everyone by championing policies that will help ensure economic security for all. As governor, I will:

• Sign paid family and medical leave that will allow everyone to be with their loved ones in times of need, such as new parents or when family members experience a medical crisis;
• Increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour and index it to inflation so that families don’t continually get left behind;
• Pass legislation requiring businesses to give adequate notice to employees on schedule changes so that families can plan for child care;
• Help meet our state’s workforce needs by ensuring that companies recognize and value the contributions of older workers; and
• Reinstate net neutrality on the state level to provide a free, open internet for everyone, including our small businesses.

Learn more about my "Family Economic Security" plan.

Further, I disagree with the recent Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME. Eight years after giving corporations an unlimited voice in our elections with its Citizens United decision, this Supreme Court decision supports an attack on unions from powerful interests and makes it harder for New Hampshire families to improve their lives, provide opportunities for their children and ensure a secure retirement. I will put hardworking New Hampshire families first.

Opioid Epidemic

The devastating opioid epidemic is the biggest challenge our state faces. We need to help people suffering from substance misuse disorders to recover and rebuild their lives today; support the first responders on the front lines of the epidemic, and do more to help people avoid this illness in the first place. As governor, I will:

• Ensure long-term stable funding so that we can grow and sustain the network of providers we need to help people get treatment and recover resources.
• Expand the number of primary care providers with incentives and training to integrate treatment into primary health care;
• Advocate for expanding medication-assisted treatment, including advocating for the federal government to lift the cap on the number of patients that providers can treat with certain medications;
• Continue to expand access to treatment, including medically assisted treatment, within the corrections system;
• Provide greater support for recovery housing and ongoing recovery support – a critical tool for helping people get back on their feet and into the workplace; and
• Provide support for children – and their caregivers – who have been impacted by the opioid crisis to help them avoid suffering from substance misuse disorders and other long-term effects.

Energy & Environment

Climate change is a real threat to our state, and we cannot wait to act to reverse its harmful impacts. Instead, we must protect the health of our people, our wildlife and our natural resources. We must ensure everyone can breathe clean air and drink clean water.

As a state senator, I worked to pass New Hampshire’s first group net metering legislation into law, propelling solar and hydropower growth. We must build on this success by expanding the group net metering cap from 1 megawatt to 5 megawatts. SB 446, which Governor Sununu vetoed, would have spurred further locally-generated, renewable energy growth in our state, created jobs, saved money for cities and towns and lowered property taxes for residents and reduced electric rates.

I oppose the Trump Administration’s plan to open up New Hampshire’s coast for offshore oil and gas drilling. We’ve already seen the devastating environmental and economic damages an oil spill would bring. The fate of our fishing and tourism industries should not rest in the hands of oil companies.

Further, I will work with our neighboring states as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which studies show has saved consumers hundreds of millions of dollars while significantly cutting harmful emissions.

I have always opposed the Northern Pass Project. I oppose any project that does not garner local support.

State Budget that Invests in Our Future

As a state senator, I fought to make smart investments in our state’s future, while keeping the budget balanced. As a state senator, I was proud to help to prevent tuition increases at our state’s public colleges and universities. Governor Sununu, though, is not making much-needed investments in our university system. And working families are paying the price.

Instead of helping make college more affordable for families, Governor Sununu gave tax breaks to wealthy corporations. The Sununu tax breaks for wealthy corporations are not responsible, fair, or smart for our state’s future. As governor, I will veto an income or sales tax, but close corporate tax breaks and loopholes so that we can strengthen public education, make college more affordable and invest in job training.

It’s also time for New Hampshire to join other New England states in legalizing, regulating and generating revenue from marijuana.

Gun Violence Prevention

My heart breaks for families who have lost a loved one to gun violence. I never worried about my children when they went to school. Now, I fear for the safety of my grandchildren. I refuse to wait for New Hampshire to suffer through a tragic school shooting. We can and must do better than this. As governor, I will work to:

• Pass universal background checks;
• Keep children and domestic abusers from getting guns;
• Keep military-style weapons off our streets;
• Reinstate the requirement of a permit to carry a concealed weapon;
• Pass a red flag law;
• Institute a 48-hour waiting period for all gun purchases; and
• Support local communities’ decision to ensure the safety of their residents
• It is our responsibility to prevent senseless gun deaths and to ensure every child feels safe in a New Hampshire classroom.

Campaign & Government Reform

I’m proud to be the only candidate for governor who has refused to accept corporate contributions from day one of my campaign.

In addition to getting dark money out of our politics and government, we must also modernize campaign finance laws to make them clear, concise and uniform for all candidates. As governor, I will work to:

• Close the LLC loophole that allows the same person to give contributions through multiple entities;
• Clarify the law on funding limits;
• Bring greater transparency to campaign funding; and
• End partisan gerrymandering by creating an independent redistricting committee.

Welcoming Immigrants to Our State

Our country and our state are stronger because of immigrants, who enrich our communities and our lives. But the Trump Administration is despicably violating human rights and common sense by ripping children from their parents’ arms at the southern border, failing to recognize legitimate asylum claims and even seeking to deport Dreamers and people with legal permanent resident status. Trump has truly created a deportation force and given enforcement agents carte blanche to treat certain people as less than human. This is wrong.

Further, New Hampshire law enforcement should not do the federal government’s job of enforcing immigration laws. The federal government’s top priority must be reuniting children with their parents as soon as possible.

I'm also concerned about Border Patrol checkpoints set up far from the New Hampshire-Canada border that reports indicate may be unconstitutional.

Protecting Vulnerable Children

Chris Sununu is failing to protect vulnerable children in our state. If we can give tax cuts to wealthy corporations, then we can fully fund DCYF. Every day that we don’t stand up and work to end this crisis is a day another child is at risk because of the state. Not taking care of children is a moral failure. When I’m Governor, I won’t accept that.

We must take the following three steps:

• Provide full, consistent and stable funding for child protection and child violence protection in the state budget, not through one-time appropriations from one-off sources, like the Children's Health Insurance Program money.
• Follow the recommendations from the 2016 independent audit report of DCYF and the 2018 DHHS Adequacy and *Enhancement report including fully funding voluntary services for families at risk, establishing community-based prevention programs, and reducing caseloads to national standard of 12 per case worker; and
• Set up an independent system of care that’s outside of the child protection context, helping to address the needs of children, prevent violence from happening, and shift out of crisis mode.

Ensuring Access to Health Care

I believe health care is a right for every person in New Hampshire. That’s why I voted for Medicaid expansion that now covers 50,000 people in New Hampshire. However, I oppose efforts that make accessing care more difficult, such as the work requirement Governor Sununu pushed for and the Republican-led legislature passed.

Efforts in Washington to remove critical rights and protections made possible by the Affordable Care Act pose a severe threat to the health and well-being of Granite Staters. No one should face bankruptcy due to a medical emergency or be denied health insurance because they have a pre-existing condition. As governor, I will ensure our health care system works for every Granite Stater.

Further, as we face the possibility of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, I will ensure New Hampshire remains a state respecting the reproductive rights of women, including by ensuring access to a safe, legal abortion. I will fight to make sure that New Hampshire funds Planned Parenthood and other family planning centers.

LGBTQ Rights

I was proud to be one of the first legislators in the country to vote for marriage equality nearly a decade ago. All of us have worked so hard for so long to make positive change in the lives of Granite Staters.

But without Justice Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court, much of our success is now threatened. Protections at the state level will be critical, which makes this governor’s race even more important to every Granite Stater who believes a person has the right to be married to the person they love and not face discrimination at school, housing and their workplace.

Veterans

As the daughter of a World War II veteran, I will never waver in supporting the men and women who have fought to keep our state and country safe. We must honor their sacrifices and ensure they have the care their need. As governor, I will:

Fully fund New Hampshire’s Veterans Home so that every veteran has access to a bed; and Ensure the veterans service office is fully staffed to help New Hampshire veterans receive the benefits they’ve earned.

Voting Rights

As a state senator, I fought efforts to disenfranchise voters in New Hampshire. But Governor Sununu has signed two bills restricting voting rights, SB 3 and HB 1264. I will repeal these bills.

Not only is voter suppression wrong, but also it makes meeting one of our state's challenges – keeping our young people here – even more difficult. It’s no surprise that a recent study found that young people are leaving New Hampshire and citing “unfriendly public policies” as a reason for saying goodbye to the Granite State. We cannot accept this.

Because so many have given their lives for the right to vote, I cannot accept Governor Sununu putting up barriers. Instead, as governor, I’ll send a strong message that we want their voices in New Hampshire. I would make voting easier by supporting vote by mail, supporting automatic voter registration and advocating for early voting.^[32]

Chris' Record
✔ A balanced state budget with no new taxes or fees

✔ Property tax relief by returning $65 million to cities and towns for roads, bridges, and safer schools

✔ Greater health care choices for veterans

✔ Job creating business tax cuts

✔ Stopped toll increases

✔ Increased funding to provide better care for seniors

✔ Established full day kindergarten

✔ Fully funded the Alcohol Fund to fight substance use disorder, created the only youth drug treatment center in NH, and kick-started recovery friendly workplaces

✔ $275 million invested in clean water projects

✔ $5 million in higher education scholarships

✔ Eliminated over 1600 burdensome government regulations

Economy
✔ Fastest growing economy in New England

✔ Networked hundreds of out-of-state businesses to relocate to New Hampshire

✔ Eliminated over 1,600 burdensome government regulations

✔ Lowered the Business Profits and Enterprise taxes

✔ Created the Department of Business and Economic Affairs

✔ One of the lowest unemployment rates in the country

Education
✔ Established full-day kindergarten

✔ $5 million in higher education scholarships

✔ Greater school choice for New Hampshire families

✔ Established the New Hampshire Robotics Education Fund to prepare students for work in the 21st century

Infrustructure
✔ Returned $40 million to cities and towns for roads and bridges

✔ Returned $30 million for school infrastructure and security upgrades

✔ Dedicated $35 million to reduce water contamination

Safety
✔ Created the only youth drug treatment center in New Hampshire

✔ Increased funding for treatment and recovery services by $7 million

✔ Added 60 new beds for community mental health treatment options

✔ Established a $4.5 million drug interdiction program to disrupt supply chains

✔ Added 20 new DCYF case workers across the state^[32]