Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

Gov. Sununu Taps Edelblut, a Former Rival, to Lead State Department of Education

Governor Chris Sununu has nominated former political rival Frank Edelblut as commissioner of the state Department of Education.

The announcement was a brief, unceremonious item on the Executive Council’s agenda Wednesday morning as Governor Chris Sununu read off a list of nominations.

“For the Commissioner of the state of the New Hampshire Department of Education I nominate Frank Edelblut of Wilton New Hampshire.”

But the choice signals a big shift in priorities for the state agency.

Frank Edelblut, a businessman who served one term as a state representative and home-schooled his 7 children, is known as an advocate for local control in education policy. He’s a strong supporter of school choice and charter schools and he also vigorously opposes Common Core.

Those positions helped him mount a strong run for governor in the Republican primary last year, narrowly losing to Chris Sununu.

With a Republican majority on the Executive Council, Edelblut’s nomination looks in good shape to be confirmed.

Jason Moon is a senior reporter and producer on the Document team. He has created longform narrative podcast series on topics ranging from unsolved murders, to presidential elections, to secret lists of police officers.
Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.