The supermajority in the New Hampshire House of Representatives that Democrats won last week all but guarantees a Democrat will be House speaker for the first time since 2020. Rep. Alexis Simpson of Exeter, the House’s current Democratic leader, appears poised to claim the speaker’s gavel. But she’s facing a stiff challenge from Democrat Rep. Jim Maggiore of North Hampton. As the new class of House Democrats meets Thursday to vote on their choice for speaker, the face-off between Simpson and Maggiore is revealing early fissures in the caucus.
Simpson, a United Church of Christ Minister, has led House Democrats since 2024, a period during which Republicans have enjoyed control of all levers of government in Concord and Democrats had little leverage.
Maggiore, who lists his occupation on “Mr. Mom,” has held local elected office in North Hampton and ran for state Senate as a Republican in 2016. Since becoming a Democrat, Maggiore has broken with his party on issues ranging from business tax cuts to banning gender reassignment surgeries for minors. He’s running for House speaker on a promise to lead with a spirit of collaboration and transparency.
Both lawmakers are making their cases privately to the 292 members of the Democratic caucus before this week’s party vote. They are also taking their race to the public in warring op-eds, on social media, and through surrogates.
“The kind of leadership our speaker’s office demands is measured by record,” Simpson wrote in a recent column in IndepthNH. “Our caucus, and the voters who elected us, deserve a speaker whose convictions they can trust.”
Maggiore, for his part, is arguing that Democrats’ new majority amounts to a mandate for change at the top.
“We cannot meet this moment with the leadership practices of the past,” he countered in his own InDepthNH op-ed. "We must move beyond the current leadership model that announces decisions after they’ve been made. . . . Under my leadership we will listen and consult more.”
A complicated job
The job of House speaker is to lead the entire New Hampshire House of Representative, with wide-ranging powers and duties. The speaker controls committee assignments, dictates the flow of legislation, and even decides who parks in which legislative parking space. Speakers also set a tone for how the House conducts business — whether combative, collaborative, bipartisan or something else — and can play a pivotal role in negotiating policy disputes with the state Senate and governor.
It remains to be seen how relevant the horse-trading aspect of the speaker’s job will be at a time when Democrats hold the largest House majority in their history and a near supermajority in the state Senate.
But the very size of the majority that Democrats will hold in the House — as well as the fact that more than half of the caucus' members next session will be new lawmakers — may prove a challenge for whoever gets chosen as speaker.
“This is a critique of the system,” Representative-elect Arya Shams noted in a recent social media post, calling for “reforms” to how the speaker is selected. Shams, a Democrat from Nashua, proposed giving candidates more time to decide on speakers’ bids, holding caucus votes only after new lawmakers have participated in legislative orientation, and giving members the chance to vet would-be speakers in a group setting with specific rules.
“All it takes is for all of us to decide that business as usual is not good enough,” Shams said. “The voters don’t just need to trust who we pick, but how we pick them.”
Other lawmakers say their focus is less about the process, and more deciding which of the two candidates is best equipped to lead the House during a watershed moment for Democrats. Concord Representative-elect Lisa Beaudoin says she doesn’t see either option as perfect, but thinks Simpson is the better choice.
“She has the kind of experience that is going to better serve the Democratic caucus with its agenda," Beaudoin said. She added that it's impossible for her to look past Maggiore’s past votes with Republicans: “His record has exposed where his value set is.”
But other Democrats say Simpson’s record shows she’s not always effective at advancing policy or conveying a Democratic point of view in the media, and Maggiore is the better option.
“Jim has the spine that is needed to both listen and go forward,” said Democratic Rep. Wendy Thomas of Merrimack. “I have faith in him.”
The House Democratic caucus will meet Thursday to decide on its nominee for Speaker. The full House will elect the next speaker December 2.
