Emerson prides himself on authenticity in run for Congress

Democrat Matthew Emerson has lived in New Hampshire most of his life, and has used lived experiences, talking to constituents and learning along the way to help shape who he is as a person and politician.

Emerson has thrown his hat in the ring for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, looking to fill a seat left vacant by Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), who is running for U.S. Senate.

Who is Matthew Emerson?

Emerson is a resident of North Conway, born in the shadow of Cathedral Ledge, to a Nigerian mother and a father who originally hailed from Long Lake, New York. His parents met in Nigeria, moved to North Conway, and his mother still lives in the same house they purchased in 1983.

He said he didn’t live the “curated life;” instead working his way through life in often unconventional ways. After high school, he went to college in Boston, and admittedly didn’t do well. He only went because at that time, he thought people would view him as an idiot for not attending college.

Emerson hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2011, from Georgia to Maine, with no prior experience, at the age of 21. He wrote a memoir, in 2020, about his journey, called “Cutting Loose: Coming of Age on the Appalachian Trail.” He then went back to college more prepared.

“After that, I felt I had a new foundation,” Emerson said. “A new sense of confidence. I could do something that takes a long time, that’s difficult, and I’ve got to learn on the fly."

Getting into politics

Emerson’s first stint in politics was in 2018, as a field organizer for the state Democratic Party. It was there he noticed a wide gap between party priorities and electorate’s demands.

“I saw the consequences of that gap continuing to widen,” Emerson said. “That’s how I see the problems that didn’t happen overnight.”

As a 36-year-old Democrat, Emerson is taking a run at the Granite State's 1st Congressional District after noticing so many people representing the country seemingly have a similar background.

“It seemed like everyone in power came from the same place, went to the same schools, had the same ideas,” Emerson said. “I thought to myself, 'There’s a large swath of people out there who seem to be living different lives.'”

Emerson says he thinks of the housing issue plaguing the nation as a steady, almost arbitrary, decline. He saw the hospital where he was born — Memorial Hospital — bought out. He sees monopolies everywhere.

“One of the benefits of YouTube is I watch old news programs, and they literally talk about the same things,” Emerson said. “And there’s the same, in many ways, binary argument. I’m like, 'OK, if they have the same solutions from 50 years ago, and the problems are still the same, maybe we need new people and a new perspective to solve them.'”

Emerson prides himself on not taking monetary donations, saying it's a way to take out the middleman, and stay true to his stances. He knows money is needed, and that’s why he put $5,000 of his own cash into his campaign.

He said he sees the tethers some candidates have to donors, which directly reflects how they act in office.

“How you run your campaign is a window into how you will be in office,” Emerson said. “If you’re disingenuous now, who’s to say you won’t be later?”

Emerson said people are stuck on the lack of authenticity in today’s politics, and there are cases where people are presenting themselves one way, and then changing entirely, depending on the audience.

“People are becoming more hip to that,” Emerson said. “You could have the best platform, have all the resources, have all the money. But, if people don’t trust you, it doesn’t matter. Trust is the most important element of progress.”

Platform

Emerson said one of the beautiful things about New Hampshire — and there are a lot of them — is he can access the voter list for free. He has an old-school approach to campaigning, and loves to meet people face to face, and listening to what constituents are dealing with regularly.

“Housing is the No. 1 tangible issue that people are dealing with,” Emerson said. “I talk people everyday, and that is always it.”

Emerson said this isn’t just consumers. Developers have told him they can’t even build because it isn’t profitable to put up anything affordable. He said many have told him they need to build higher-income housing just to hit their bottom line.

He outlined a plan for streamlining the process for the Federal Housing Authority and USDA loans, noting he recently spoke with someone who told him the turnaround time for a loan was 10 months. With a house being sold in between 12 and 45 days in Carroll County, that just isn’t feasible.

“Not only that, home values are up nearly 10%,” Emerson said. “So, what you could have been competitive with last year, 12 months ago, you’re $40,000 short, and nobody’s wage has gone up to equal that. So, I see that gap.”

Emerson admits government can’t solve everything, but he said, in some instances in a free market, government has a role to help the buyer.

He said the state is underdeveloped, and wants to see investments and grants in water, sewer and broadband, so when homes are built, people are set up with the best services possible for a better quality of life to raise their families.

He thinks the home is a pillar of life, tying a person to their community. Emerson said when someone owns something, instead of pumping money into rent, they have more pride.

“One thing I don’t see often from the Democratic Party is that I don’t want people to be dependent on government,” Emerson said. “I want them to own their own things. Of course, I believe government should be used as a tool to help people. I also know that the end goal should be for people to have their own.”

Emerson is a proponent of term limits and instituting what he calls the “strictest lobbying reform in our country.” He wants former members of Congress banned from lobbying altogether, and also believes in full financial disclosure.

“We should know exactly who you’re financially tied to.”

In a recent interview, he often brought the subject back to authenticity, saying people want accountability in a variety of ways. Specifically, he brought up the Epstein files, and wondered why people included are not being held accountable, especially in the U.S.

“I’m an average person, and I think, 'Well, if I speed by a cop, I’m going to get a ticket,'” Emerson said. “But people are harming kids here. They seem to be able to brush that off like it’s nothing. That comes to a level of, not just cognitive dissonance, but a lack of morality that us normal people out here in the real world, we notice.”

Emerson thinks healthcare is a human right, and while he wants universal healthcare to exist, he also knows it can’t happen overnight. He said many point to the example of Nordic countries, and he respects what they are doing, but the United States has different dynamics, notably its sheer size, which drives up costs.

Emerson said many stances he's running on tie together.

“When everything correlates to each other, and these are, like, many issues,” Emerson said. “To solve the housing issue, well, then you also have to solve the issue of jobs. Then you have to solve the issue of healthcare. They are all correlated. I think that is another thing people are kind of losing sight of. They talk about everything as an isolated issue when it’s not.”

Leading in a divided time

Emerson said he has certain fundamental beliefs, immediately noting he thinks Roe vs. Wade should be codified, and believes in universal healthcare. He thinks trade schools should be fully funded, and is an ally for LGBTQ+ people. Emerson disagrees with the tactics of masked ICE agents, while calling for immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship.

Emerson said it is very important people trust him and understand his viewpoints, and he is a person of principle, who will not break overnight.

He also said he'll work with anyone who has the same end goal, and acknowledges there are different ways of getting there.

“As long as our end goal is the same, which is helping our constituents, for me helping the people of the First District, I’ll work with anybody,” Emerson said. “But I’m not going to work with somebody who has a hidden motivation or disingenuous, or even political expediency behind it. However, I always put the interests of my constituents over my personal beliefs. This is a job to represent people and that relies on their trust.”

Emerson says he is the “most authentic” candidate who provides a clear vision with tangible solutions.

“I didn’t enter this race to enrich myself, or to get my name and my face everywhere,” Emerson said. “I want to see change, and I don’t see anyone in this race who has the qualities necessary for it. A lot of people have money, slogans, or buzz words. They don’t seem to have the nerve that’s needed, the conviction that’s needed, they definitely don’t have a granite chin.”