New Hampshire youth politics collides with Free State push

Free State – From a 13-year-old biking to school board meetings over mask mandates to 18-year-old Anthony Henry now running for the New Hampshire State House, a new generation is rushing into the Granite State’s fast-moving elections. At the center of the fight is the Free

In the summer of 2022, 13-year-old Anthony Henry pedaled about 25 minutes through the leafy streets of Derry, New Hampshire, to sit through school board meetings. It was an effort made for an unlikely target: middle school mask mandates.

“It was really just an exciting time to be involved, to be able to fight for something you believe in,” Henry later said. “It kind of taught me that if people can take a middle schooler’s voice seriously, then that’s pretty cool, and that’s kind of why I stuck around.”

Five years later, Henry is 18. This fall, he’s running as a Republican candidate for the New Hampshire State House. He’s not alone—college-aged politicians are also stepping into the contest. drawn by New Hampshire’s unusually open political structure and. for some. the growing presence of libertarian activists often described under the Free State Project.

New Hampshire’s House of Representatives has 400 seats. making it the second-largest lower house in the country after the U.S. House in Washington. Yet the state is only the 41st most populous. Each representative represents about 3,304 residents. If the U.S. Congress had that same ratio of representation, its House would have about 99,000 members.

That density of seats is part of what makes room for candidates who might struggle elsewhere—like teenagers—while also lowering the barrier for political newcomers who want to win at the state and local level.

It also helped draw libertarian activists who arrived in waves. The Free State Project traces its origin to 2001. when then–Yale graduate student Jason Sorens wrote a letter aimed at concentrating libertarians who were dispersed coast to coast. Sorens argued that if enough of them relocated to the right place, they could consolidate power. The plan he described was straightforward: migrate, run for state and local office, and then secede from the United States.

Since Sorens launched the project, an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 people have migrated to New Hampshire under its mantle.

How many of those migrants hold office isn’t tracked through official metrics. But a libertarian advocacy organization called the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance grades lawmakers on how closely they align with libertarian principles. producing what it offers as a close estimate of how many share the ideology. Based on its rankings, 166 of the state’s 400 representatives receive grades of 85 percent or higher.

One of the most visible figures is Jason Osborne, the House majority leader. Osborne moved to New Hampshire from Ohio in 2010. He has earned a 94.7 score according to the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, putting him near the top of the alliance’s measured influence.

Inside the state House, that influence has shown up in policy fights that range from gun rights to school choice, as well as efforts to expand access to investing state coffers in precious metals and cryptocurrency.

The Free Staters’ approach can be difficult to spot from the outside. Many reject the label publicly and run as Republicans, winning partisan votes through party affiliation rather than a libertarian brand. Free State Project executive director Eric Brakey described that strategy this way: “If you believe in libertarian ideas. then the Republican Party is the most effective vehicle to be able to win elections and to be able to actually put those things into practice.”.

Dante Scala. a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire. said the movement has “tended to bat above their weight when it comes to the legislature.” He added that the inroads into the Republican Party at the state legislative level are greater than their impact on the state’s population as a whole.

But the fusion of traditional Republicans and libertarian priorities also means the relationship cuts both ways. Scala described an arrangement where the New Hampshire Republican Party advances some libertarian interests. including an aggressive push for cryptocurrency access. At the same time, libertarians join Republicans on culture-war issues.

One example surfaced in a defense of a bathroom policy. The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance wrote: “The right to privacy and safety for those who present as their biological sex outweighs the interest of others who present differently from their biological sex to access the shared public spaces of their preference.” It continued: “As a result. it is a reasonable protection of liberty to allow for the use of shared public spaces to be separated on the basis of biological sex.”.

For Henry, the question is not just what gets proposed—it’s whether voters know who is behind it. Henry argues for transparency and says voters have a right to know whether a candidate is a traditional Republican or a libertarian. “I think if people are going to run as a Republican. even though they’re not. they should be honest about that.”.

Still, not every young Republican sees the Free State Project as a problem. Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Brooks is running for state representative too. Brooks said he isn’t a full-blown libertarian—he supports retaining funding for public schools—but he supports the project’s organizing effort. “I think it’s cool that they’re trying to move more liberty-focused people into the state,” Brooks said.

Twenty-two-year-old Republican state representative Sam Farrington is also enthusiastic. He pointed to demographic change. saying New Hampshire has grown its population by 7.5 percent over the last 15 years through out-migration from other states. particularly Massachusetts. Farrington told voters that people are moving because New Hampshire’s governing model “maximize[s] freedom and prosperity. ” and he tied that to “oppressive income taxes and sales taxes” he said people are fleeing in other states.

For young conservatives like Farrington, the Free State Project’s presence isn’t just an ideological debate. It’s something that looks like results at the State House.

On March 2. Farrington walked into a Durham Town Council meeting with a defense for bold legislation he had proposed in the House—carrying a literal weapon as part of his pitch. Two months earlier. Farrington had sponsored HB 1793. which would have lifted the ban on firearms on public college campuses. often described as “Campus Carry.” Scala said the proposal reflected a defining feature of New Hampshire conservatism: “New Hampshire conservatives tend to be very motivated by Second Amendment issues. a lot more motivated than by issues such as abortion. gay marriage. etc.”.

The bill also triggered controversy. A petition against it had acquired 803 signatures. Farrington said there was significant backlash on the UNH campus as well. “Some people might say I’m the most hated person on campus, but you know, I got a lot of people that support me and cheer me on as well.”

HB 1793 passed the NH House, but it died at the end of the legislative session in May.

Even so, Farrington’s push reflects how a young politician can quickly shape a conversation in New Hampshire. It also fits the idea that conservative energy is moving into youth networks.

Mark Rittgers led UNH College Republicans until he graduated this May. After Charlie Kirk was killed, Rittgers said his club saw enrollment double from 60 to 120 members. He credited what he called a “vibe shift” with making conservatism more normal on campus. “I feel like every new freshman class, the vibe on campus kind of got more neutral,” Rittgers said. “People are more comfortable [joining College Republicans] now because they realize there are more than they thought there would be.”.

That momentum is being encouraged with direct visits from state GOP figures. Rittgers said the state Republican Party sends candidates to UNH College Republicans. including visits connected to the group’s Super Bowl Party. He said US Senate candidate Scott Brown attended, and Hollie Noveletsky, a candidate for U.S. Congress in New Hampshire’s first district, brought chili. “They’re super receptive to us,” Rittgers said. “It’s actually kind of insane.”.

But the Free State Project’s political rise is also drawing backlash inside the state’s Republican orbit—an opposition campaign that has its own spokespeople, meetings, and a central message.

In March, standing room filled a fluorescent-lighted room at Wolfeboro Public Library when Jeanne Dietsch took the microphone. Dietsch. a retired tech entrepreneur. runs Granite State Matters. a nonprofit aimed at raising awareness about the Free State Project and pushing back against it. She told the audience that “Hiding in plain sight. amid our beautiful forests. is a highly organized group called the Free State Project. ” and said the group “has worked for 22 years to commandeer our state to be their libertarian homeland.”.

Dietsch said the nonprofit’s goal is to raise attention during the election cycle. She described the message she wants people to hear: “We are really pushing this election to make people aware that ‘Hey. Republicans. look what’s happened to your party. This is not Ronald Reagan’s Republican Party that you’re voting for here,’”.

Kristine Perez. a Republican state representative and a retired nurse. said she became alert to the Free Staters within her own party after two years in the state House. Perez said she learned “we have a tremendous amount of them in the state. and they are not Republicans.” She added: “They vote Republican. they say they’re Republicans. but they’re not true Republicans.”.

Scala agreed that many New Hampshire residents—even frequent voters—don’t necessarily know about the Free State Project or its agenda of cultivating a “libertarian homeland” in the state. He said residents don’t always know “and to be able to say a bit about who they are and what they stand for. ” describing it as requiring people to be “especially politically attentive.”.

Dietsch said her outreach has been more effective with retirees like herself. “They’re burned out on politics,” she said of younger people. “Until it comes to something that’s directly impactful to them, I can’t see how to engage them.”

For Democrats, the Free State Project is also being framed as a credibility problem—especially around issues tied to transgender people and privacy.

Alice Wade. a 23-year-old Democrat state representative. said she is worried about Free State influence in part because she thinks it is hypocritical. Wade said “The more old school libertarianism. which I agree with in some ways. is the sort of live and let live.” But she added that libertarians pushing bathroom rules are not practicing the same posture. “But then you have the same libertarians saying, ‘I’m going to police where you go to the bathroom.’”.

Wade pointed to Erica Layon, who sponsored this year’s bathroom bill. She said Layon was one of 18 legislators that the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance gave an A+ rating.

Jonah Wheeler. a 22-year-old Democratic state representative. said he recognizes Free Staters are present in the legislature but disagreed with treating them as a constant enemy. Wheeler said turning them into a “boogeyman” is not a sustainable strategy. “The boogeyman politics, I think, is part of what people are tired of,” he said. He argued that while such a strategy may produce a temporary majority. “those majorities are not long lasting. and they’re not mandates to govern.”.

Wade tied her decision to enter politics to what she saw after graduating from UNH in 2023. She said she watched a wave of anti-trans legislation in New Hampshire. including a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors and a requirement that schools inform parents if their children choose to go by different pronouns at school. “That’s what really clicked for me. of. like. this isn’t something that I can just kind of wave away in my brain as a faraway problem. ” Wade said. “This could very soon become a real issue for me in my daily life.”.

Over the past year, Wade has built an engaged social media audience with 5,000 Instagram followers and described a video with over 2.7 million views. She said she posts testimonies from the House floor and Q&As about how to run for office in New Hampshire, “while heating up frozen samosas.”

Wade said she uses that work to show that politics is “not as scary as it looks.” She said she has been successful—her followers have run for their own school boards and even public records offices.

Henry, Farrington, and Wheeler all described using social media to reach voters as they look toward their fall elections. Henry hosts a public TV talk show called America’s Ass with Anthony Henry. Farrington has 6,500 followers on X, and Wheeler has close to 15,000 followers across X and Instagram.

“I have a message I want to send to as many people as possible, and social media makes that easy,” Farrington said.

New Hampshire’s political culture depends on that accessibility. Scala said the state legislature is “the embodiment of New Hampshire political culture, which centers around accessibility to citizens.” In his view, the young politicians running for office benefit directly from that open structure.

Wheeler’s path to the State House came quickly. He said he won his first election in September 2022. standing in the gym at the Peterborough Community Center on the second Tuesday in September while a ticker machine counted up results during a storm. He described a three-way race for two seats. saying he took first place by only 40 votes. and he said he headed to the State House at 19.

Wheeler said the moment wasn’t defined by excitement. “There wasn’t so much excitement in that immediate moment as there was just relief. relief of the stress of politics over the course of the several months prior. ” he said. “That relief that I wasn’t crazy, that people, you know, were listening to me.”.

He connected the victory to the weather. Wheeler said he knew that “as the storm clouds broke over Mount Monadnock. ” it could only have happened in New Hampshire. He recalled the rain coming down “righteously” and said. “The rain was coming down righteously. ” adding. “It was just like something that whipped across the region in the most magical of ways. And as soon as I stepped out, I said, ‘This right right here, that’s New Hampshire.’”.

The fight heading into this fall’s elections is whether that accessibility will translate into transparency and accountability about who is shaping New Hampshire’s Republican agenda—or whether the Free State Project’s approach will keep deepening its hold through candidates who run under the G.O.P. umbrella.

New Hampshire politics Free State Project libertarians state House elections Anthony Henry Jason Sorens Eric Brakey Jason Osborne HB 1793 campus carry bathroom bill transgender rights Granite State Matters Granite State Matters Jeanne Dietsch Kristine Perez Alice Wade Jonah Wheeler Sam Farrington Matthew Brooks