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NHGOP Chair Condemns 'Talk of Impeachment' By Some Reps Upset With Mask Mandate

Dan Barrick / NHPR
Governor Sununu speaking with a Concord farmers' market vendor in August 2020.

The chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party is condemning an effort by a handful of GOP lawmakers to launch impeachment proceedings against Gov. Chris Sununu.

Backers of the probe say Sununu, who ordered a mask mandate last week, has overused his emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic.

State GOP Chairman Steve Stepanek wrote in a statement: “The NHGOP has always and will continue to stand with Governor Sununu and his team as he fights for Granite Staters during this global pandemic.”

He predicted the lawmakers pushing the effort will end up looking foolish.

"Talk of impeachment is a severe obfuscation of the reasons Granite Staters elected Republicans on November 3rd," Stepanek continued.

Republicans will regain the majority in both the New Hampshire House and Senate when the 2021-22 session begins.

The lawmakers eyeing impeaching Sununu, five House back-benchers and two incoming members, say Sununu has gone too far, most recently by requiring people wear masks anytime they can’t keep social distance in public.

Last week, when the governor announced the mask mandate - an idea he’d long rejected - he told reporters he had “big shoulders” and was prepared for pushback.

On Sunday, about a hundred protestors demonstrated outside Sununu’s house. They chanted ‘Breathe Free or Die, We will not comply,” and carried signs with slogans such as “Fire Fauci.”

Sununu’s office took to social media to ask Twitter to remove posts that they said shared the governor’s home address.

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I cover campaigns, elections, and government for NHPR. Stories that attract me often explore New Hampshire’s highly participatory political culture. I am interested in how ideologies – doctrinal and applied – shape our politics. I like to learn how voters make their decisions and explore how candidates and campaigns work to persuade them.
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