Keene Democrat resigns from State House amid attorney general residency probe

The House clerk announced Dylan Germana’s resignation Friday. (Photo by Dave Cummings/New Hampshire Bulletin)

State Rep. Dylan Germana, a Keene Democrat, has resigned after the state Attorney General’s Office wrote in a letter to House leadership that they found “credible evidence” the young New Hampshire lawmaker was no longer living within his district.

The New Hampshire Constitution requires lawmakers to live within their district. The House clerk announced Germana’s resignation Friday.

Germana was a first-term member of the House, elected in November 2024. At 22, he was among the youngest lawmakers in the Legislature. He also serves on the Keene School Board. His father, Nicholas Germana, is also a Democratic member in the 400-member House of Representatives.

More from this section

Coldest Februarys in New Hampshire since 1895

New Hampshire Households Spend $729 on Groceries Each Month

Neither Dylan nor Nicholas Germana responded to the Bulletin’s requests for comment.

In the letter addressed to House Speaker Sherman Packard and Minority Leader Alexis Simpson and obtained by the Bulletin, Associate Attorney General Matthew Broadhead wrote that “Germana may be residing in an apartment in Dover.” According to a post-election roster from the Secretary of State’s Office, Dylan and Nicholas Germana reported living at the same residence in Keene.

Representatives misrepresenting their residence has been an issue in New Hampshire in the past. In 2024, two different representatives were caught surreptitiously living outside their district and later resigned. Republican Rep. Troy Merner, a Republican representing Lancaster, ultimately pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors after he moved to Caroll, wrongfully voted in Lancaster, and claimed mileage reimbursements from the state for purportedly traveling from his district in Lancaster to the State House in Concord. He received a six-month suspended sentence, relinquished his right to vote in the state, and paid a roughly $1,100 fine. Daniel Hynes, an independent representing Bedford, resigned amid accusations that he rented out his Bedford residence to another family and stayed in several other locations outside his district. Hynes did not face charges.

According to the state constitution and state law, Keene officials will have the option to request a special election to replace Germana. If they do, Gov. Kelly Ayotte and the Executive Council will have 56 days to call a special election.