How a Small Group of New Hampshire Reps Control the State Legislature

What began as a fringe movement has become a political machine. It’s time to restore balance and common sense in Concord. You

What began as a fringe movement has become a political machine. It’s time to restore balance and common sense in Concord in 2026.

You’ve probably heard of the Free State Project — but you might not realize just how much control its followers now wield in Concord. Their libertarian ideology has spread quietly but effectively through the Legislature, shaping decisions on taxes, education, and public services. What began as a fringe movement has become a political machine. The question now is: how do we take our state back?

While there is no official count of legislators aligned with the Free State Project or libertarian ideology, credible reporting suggests that well over half of the 221 House Republicans regularly vote with the Free State–aligned bloc. The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance—the movement’s political arm—reports that nearly half of the Republican caucus consistently supports its agenda.

For the 2025–2026 legislative session, this bloc has a stranglehold on the House, chairing most committees, controlling assignments, and shaping the state’s budget and policy priorities—particularly around taxes, education, and public services. The same dynamic holds true in the Senate.

I’m fortunate to serve on one of the few committees that still operates in a bipartisan way—Commerce and Consumer Affairs—but many others no longer function in this manner. In some, dissenting voices are silenced. One colleague on Science, Technology, and Energy told me they were not even permitted to say the words “climate change.”

At the top of this power structure stands House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, one of the most dominant leaders in recent memory. When Osborne instructs his members how to vote, they fall in line—or risk punishment. His authority, built through party discipline and the Free State network, ensures that a small, ideologically rigid minority can dictate the direction of our entire state.

This bloc has had a sweeping impact on legislation in both the House and Senate. They drove the dramatic expansion of the school voucher program—costing more than $73 million since it was introduced in 2021,with the clear intent of defunding public education. They have sought to repeal licensing and regulations for daycare, healthcare, and housing. They’ve chipped away at voting rights, reproductive rights, and local control—the very values that once defined New Hampshire’s balanced, pragmatic politics.

Their success is no accident. They’re heavily funded by groups such as the NH Liberty Alliance, Americans for Prosperity, and other national dark-money networks. The Texas-based Young Americans for Liberty funded postcard campaigns and paid canvassers to reach thousands of homes across the state. The NH Liberty Alliance itself endorsed 138 candidates for the House in the last election cycle.

Despite poor polling for Democrats statewide, recent elections in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and elsewhere showed strong victories for candidates who rejected Trumpism and extremism. That opens a door here in New Hampshire—for Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans alike—to reclaim our Legislature in 2026.

To do that, we must recruit moderates from both parties to run for public office. That starts locally—with select boards, school committees, library trustees, and zoning boards. These are the people who grow into state leaders, and the time to recruit them is now, not weeks before filing deadlines.

Local residents must also reclaim town meetings and budget hearings, where far-right activists have learned to exploit low turnout. Remember Croydon, where a handful of attendees slashed the school budget in half? Only after a groundswell of community outrage was funding restored. We can’t let that happen again.

We also need to shine light on how these candidates are funded and organized, exposing their affiliations with out-of-state organizations and libertarian networks. And civic groups, libraries, and community leaders must help citizens understand what happens in Concord—through letters to the editor, public forums, and civic education. When Granite Staters see the direct impact of these policies on their schools, towns, and hospitals, they speak up.

New Hampshire’s strength has always come from its independent, community-driven values—neighbors looking out for one another, not ideology imported from Texas or Washington think tanks. The radicals holding the State House in a chokehold can only be defeated by participation, transparency, and courage.

The work begins now: recruit candidates, educate voters, and show up.
Let’s take back the Live Free or Die State in 2026.

Anita Burroughs is in her fourth term in the New Hampshire legislature, serving as the Ranking Member on the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee. Join the conversation on how we can take New Hampshire back—one community, one election, one voice at a time.

Resources:

For in depth reporting on the Free State Project, visit

Granite State Matters

You can Download a Free Book about the Free Staters on their website: