Matt Coker, Republican (incumbent)

Experience: NH House of Representatives (2022-present); active airline pilot; clerk, Belknap County Budget Committee; selected as an instructor pilot to teach new and current airline pilots how to operate a heavy jet in worldwide airline operations.

Education: bachelor's of aeronautics, Liberty University

Position on issues

Broad-based sales tax: Against

Broad-based income tax: Against

Business tax decrease: For

Capital gains tax: "Many say this is just a tax on the wealthy, but that's not true. This tax impacts middle-class retirees and is a de facto income tax, which isn't something we do in New Hampshire."

Minimum wage increase: "Right now, with inflation still a problem, unemployment at historic lows, and wage growth naturally happening, doing anything at all inflationary is unwise."

Encourage local zoning changes for housing development: "Housing demand is a widespread priority issue that needs to be addressed from many angles to make significant progress. I support creating state programs that towns can choose to participate in or not. Each locality has its own character, and I believe in allowing towns to develop housing in a way that fits their character and the will of the town residents."

Increase funding for child care providers: "Yes, quality, available, and affordable child care is a critical component for keeping our economy thriving. I'd like to see increased funding focused on creating new centers or expanding capacity wherever possible. In my own town, I watched a few young entrepreneurs start a childcare center, and it was inspiring. It has become an asset to our community by providing affordable childcare that's desperately needed across the state."

Majority of public school funding through local property taxes: "There is no perfect way to fund education. Our system places funding decisions mostly in the hands of town voters. This allows for easier accountability and enables towns to build a school system that reflects their values. That said, I would like to see the state take on more of the burden for special education, which would prevent major swings in small town budgets and leverage economies of scale to provide those services at a lower overall cost."

"Education Freedom Account" program: "I was against the EFA program before I took office. After being in office and learning more about the program and the challenges our schools face, I changed my mind. The world has changed, and people want flexibility and options in their children's education. Wealthy parents have been able to do this; middle-class and low-income families have not. This program allows them to do so and opens up the entire system to innovation and new possibilities that traditional schools simply cannot evolve quickly enough to provide. This will revolutionize educational possibilities, and in the future, I believe it will reshape how all schools, public, private, and even community colleges operate. There are limitless possibilities with the program, yet there will undoubtedly be some growing pains and issues we have to work through. However, considering the relatively low portion of overall education spending going to this program at this point, I believe it is worth the investment."

Marijuana legalization with home-growing, no sales: "Marijuana legalization is inevitable, with over 70% of NH residents in favor of it. With federal reclassification and legalization looking imminent, NH should not be caught unprepared. I believe the focus of our legalization efforts should be on eliminating the black market and ensuring its use is limited to private, non-public places. We should also ensure that an appropriate portion of the taxes raised by marijuana sales goes to substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery programs to help reduce any unintended consequences."

Marijuana legalization with private sales: "Marijuana legalization is inevitable, with over 70% of NH residents in favor of it. With federal reclassification and legalization looking imminent, NH should not be caught unprepared. I believe the focus of our legalization efforts should be on eliminating the black market and ensuring its use is limited to private, non-public places. We should also ensure that an appropriate portion of the taxes raised by marijuana sales goes to substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery programs to help reduce any unintended consequences."

Marijuana legalization with state-run stores: "Marijuana legalization is inevitable, with over 70% of NH residents in favor of it. With federal reclassification and legalization looking imminent, NH should not be caught unprepared. I believe the focus of our legalization efforts should be on eliminating the black market and ensuring its use is limited to private, non-public places. We should also ensure that an appropriate portion of the taxes raised by marijuana sales goes to substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery programs to help reduce any unintended consequences."

Repeal ban on abortion after 24 weeks: "My stance on abortion is that before fetal viability, there should be very few restrictions on abortions. After viability, abortions should be allowed only for the life and health of the mother or in cases of fatal or catastrophic fetal anomalies. Our current law closely follows this by allowing abortions up to 24 weeks and, after that, only for the life or health of the mother or for a fatal fetal condition. I would not be looking to make any major changes to the current law."

Guarantee right to abortion before 24 weeks: "My stance on abortion is that before fetal viability, there should be very few restrictions on abortions. After viability, abortions should be allowed only for the life and health of the mother or in cases of fatal or catastrophic fetal anomalies. Our current law closely follows this by allowing abortions up to 24 weeks and, after that, only for the life or health of the mother or for a fatal fetal condition. I would not be looking to make any major changes to the current law."

Ban abortion during 2nd trimester: "My stance on abortion is that before fetal viability, there should be very few restrictions on abortions. After viability, abortions should be allowed only for the life and health of the mother or in cases of fatal or catastrophic fetal anomalies. Our current law closely follows this by allowing abortions up to 24 weeks and, after that, only for the life or health of the mother or for a fatal fetal condition. I would not be looking to make any major changes to the current law."

Ban abortion during 1st trimester: "My stance on abortion is that before fetal viability, there should be very few restrictions on abortions. After viability, abortions should be allowed only for the life and health of the mother or in cases of fatal or catastrophic fetal anomalies. Our current law closely follows this by allowing abortions up to 24 weeks and, after that, only for the life or health of the mother or for a fatal fetal condition. I would not be looking to make any major changes to the current law."

Protection for interstate travel related to gender, abortion: "These laws tend to be pointless political footballs that don't change anything and just continue to stoke the culture wars."

Stricter gun laws: Against

Require local immigration enforcement: "Both legal and illegal immigration are at a crisis point. Doing anything other than strictly clamping down on illegal immigration is an affront to the millions of immigrants who came here legally and is not in the best interest of our state."

Climate change action: "The state should take advantage of clean energy when it makes sense, but not just for the sake of doing so. I believe the market will naturally move in this direction as green energy sources become a better option for consumers due to advancing technology. Instead, I would prefer the state to invest in keeping our lakes and forests clean and healthy."

Expand net metering opportunities: "From what I've learned during my time in office, net metering really comes down to the details of individual proposals. If it can bring down electricity costs for NH users, I'm for it."

Conditional, affidavit ballots for new voters: "First off, having an ID should be a must to vote. I don't love the affidavit system, but it's what works for now. With the emergence of real-time ID verification technology, I'd like to see a way for poll workers to verify identity in real-time, rather than dealing with the complexity of the current affidavit system."