UPDATE: Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm issued the following response to Labranche’s candidacy
“With the House so closely divided, I am focused on discussions with Republican Leadership on how we can work together to pass legislation that benefits all Granite Staters.”
AMHERST, N.H. – Although he is no longer a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, 21-year-old Tony Labranche is looking to become its next leader.
On Friday, Labranche informed recently elected state representatives that he is seeking the role of New Hampshire House Speaker, which will be chosen on Wednesday, Dec. 7.
Initially elected in 2020, In January 2022, he left the Democratic Party and became an independent before ultimately resigning in August 2022.
With both of his parents hailing from Canada, Labranche is a dual-American/Canadian citizen and has voted in elections in Quebec as well as New Hampshire, although he says he is domiciled in Amherst and was in Montreal as a college student rather than a permanent resident.
Although he would not be eligible to be in line to become governor if he became speaker under Part 2, Article 5b of the New Hampshire State Constitution due to his age, Part 2, Article 22 of the State Constitution states that the House shall choose its own speaker, but does not specify that the speaker must be a state representative.
As the 2022 election returned an almost evenly split New Hampshire House of Representatives for the next two years, Labranche believes an independent and someone coming from outside the house itself could help alleviate partisan tensions by reaching out to both sides and applying house rules evenly to members of both parties.
If elected, he seeks to ensure that all committees have equal representation and that the division of committee chairs and vice chairs are also equally divided given the almost even split among house members.
Labranche says State Representative-Elect Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough) and State Representative Ellen Read (D-Newmarket) have announced their support for his candidacy over incumbent speaker Sherm Packard (R-Londonderry) and Democratic House Leader Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester), but Labranche says that approximately 20 state representatives have responded positively to his announcement from both sides of the aisle.
Labranche would require a nomination and a second from state representatives to become a candidate for speaker, but he believes he has a chance if he can officially become a candidate.
“From what I’ve heard, nobody will become speaker during the first round since the house is so close and the votes are so fractured,” he said. “I don’t think I’d necessarily be a spoiler because I believe I can obtain support from both sides of the aisle, so I wouldn’t take votes away from one side of the other.”
