This story was originally produced by the Portsmouth Herald. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Democratic state Rep. Ned Raynolds of Portsmouth is resisting calls by New Hampshire House Republicans for him to resign after Raynolds told House Majority Leader Jason Osborne he’d put him “on the ground and rub gravel in your face” in downtown Portsmouth.
Raynolds confirmed he sent a private Facebook message to Osborne, a Republican, after learning he did not individually condemn a recent New Hampshire Libertarian Party social media post endorsing political violence against Democrats.
“How about this you (expletive)? Come on over to Portsmouth and meet me in the middle of Market Square,” Raynolds wrote to Osborne in part on Saturday, Sept. 26. “No weapons, no posse - just you & me. We’ll stop traffic, and I’ll put you on the ground and rub gravel in your face. And make you eat (expletive).”
Multiple Republican state representatives on Monday, Sept. 28, released statements imploring House Minority Leader Alexis Simpson, a Democrat from Exeter, to publicly call on Raynolds to resign. Raynolds responded in an interview that he would not step down, even if he is asked by Simpson.
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