New Hampshire
A new campaign finance law is allowing record-breaking spending in NH governor’s race • New Hampshire Bulletin
In her quest for the New Hampshire governor’s office, Kelly Ayotte is breaking financial records. As of Oct. 30, the Republican nominee and former U.S. senator has raised $21 million since running for the office and spent nearly $19 million of it.
The amount far surpasses the funds raised by Ayotte’s Democratic opponent, former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, who brought in $7.3 million as of that same deadline. And it dwarfs the $1.7 million raised by Gov. Chris Sununu during his entire 2022 re-election effort.
But the money is unusual for other reasons: A majority of it – 70 percent – comes from a single political action committee. And none of those transactions can be traced to individual donors.
The strategy is the direct result of a 2023 campaign finance law that removes limits on donations to candidates from political action committees. And after recent validation from the Attorney General’s Office, the Ayotte campaign’s application of the law could become common practice in future elections.
In an Oct. 10 opinion, the office’s Election Law Unit wrote that Ayotte’s practice of accepting millions of dollars from a political action committee supplied by the Republican Governor’s Association is legal, rebuffing a complaint by Democrats.
Since then, Democrats have followed the RGA’s lead and embraced the technique on their own, pouring larger sums of money to Craig.
The little-noticed law – added to last year’s state budget – allows New Hampshire candidates to accept an unlimited number of contributions from “political advocacy organizations,” without those organizations needing to disclose their donors.
The maneuver has another benefit: Candidates can use that money to buy cheaper ads. Federal law requires that television stations give political candidates a cheaper rate to buy ads than political organizations in the 60 days ahead of an election. That incentivizes PACs to transfer funds directly to candidates in the final stretch.
Campaign finance reform advocates have objected to the state law, arguing the removal of the limits has diminished transparency and accountability for candidates. But the new tool has proven attractive for some campaigns this year.
The state’s online campaign finance system shows that the Republican Governors Association contributed a total of $21.3 million to a political action committee named the Live Free PAC this campaign cycle. That “political advocacy organization” has sent much of that money – $14.7 million – on to the Ayotte campaign, and $6 million to the New Hampshire Republican State Committee.
Democrats challenged that set-up, arguing the Live Free PAC had wrongfully registered as a “political advocacy organization,” which allows it to accept unlimited donations from the RGA. The New Hampshire Democratic Party said it should have registered as a “political committee,” which would cap the number of donations it could receive from the RGA to $30,000 for the entire election season.
But the Attorney General’s Office response this month asserts that the Live Free PAC is a validly registered political advocacy organization, and is thus able to raise unlimited amounts and transfer unlimited amounts to candidates.
‘Political committee’ vs. ‘political advocacy organization’
The 2023 law allows unlimited donations to candidates in many – but not all – cases.
Individual donors and corporations are still capped at donating $15,000 in total to a candidate, per the law, RSA 664:4. Wealthier individuals often skirt this cap by registering multiple limited liability corporations and donating the $15,000 maximum from each corporation.
And individuals and businesses are still prevented from donating more than $30,000 in one election cycle to a “political committee” or “political party.”
But individuals are not capped in how much they may donate to a “political advocacy organization.” And after the 2023 change, a political advocacy organization can now pass on an unlimited amount of funds directly to a candidate.
That change means individuals or large party organizations like the RGA and DGA can pass major donations on to candidates – as long as they send those donations through a political advocacy organization.
And it raises a legal question: What is the difference between a political committee, which is capped, and a political advocacy organization, which is not?
The statute is less than clear. A political committee is defined as any organization that “promotes the success or defeat of a candidate or candidates or measure or measures.” And a political advocacy organization is any organization that spends at least $2,500 for communication that is “functionally equivalent” to advocacy for a candidate or measure, even if that is not the organization’s primary role.
In Ayotte’s case, Live Free PAC has registered as a political advocacy organization in the 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024 election cycles, campaign finance records show. And after the passage of the 2023 law, the PAC has taken advantage of the new unlimited powers, transferring large amounts to the Ayotte campaign, usually in tranches of $1.5 million at a time. All of Live Free PAC’s money comes from the RGA.
The fundraising strategies are a major difference between the two gubernatorial campaigns. Craig has raised $4.4 million from individual donors, or 65 percent of her funds overall. Ayotte has raised $3.7 million from individual donors, but that comprises just 18 percent of her total haul. The other $17 million comes from the $14.7 million in Live Free PAC transfers and money transfers from other organizations and PACs.
If you can’t beat ‘em …
In its Sept. 18 complaint to the Attorney General’s Office, the New Hampshire Democratic Party alleged that the Live Free PAC had wrongly registered as a political advocacy organization, when it really met the definition of a political committee.
But Richard Lehmann, an attorney representing the Live Free PAC, disputed that argument. In an Oct. 8 letter to the Attorney General’s Office, Lehmann wrote that Live Free PAC met the definitions of a political advocacy organization, or PAO, and argued that neither the Legislature nor the Attorney General’s Office had issued guidelines that would prevent that registration.
“If the Legislature intended to restrict the ability of organizations to register and conduct themselves as PAOs, it would have imposed additional conditions or restricted the ability of organizations to qualify,” Lehmann wrote. “It did not do that.”
Assistant Attorney General Brendan O’Donnell, chief of the Election Law Unit, sided with the PAC, writing in response to the NHDP that the PAC “registered as a PAO and met the statutory definition of a PAO.” O’Donnell added that just because Live Free PAC also met the statutory definitions of a political committee did not mean it needed to follow those contribution limits, since it didn’t register as one.
Following the advisory opinion, the Democrats changed tack. After months of running a political committee titled “Democratic Governors Association – New Hampshire” and adhering to the $30,000 limits on individual receipts, the Democratic Governors Association registered its own political advocacy organization on Oct. 11, a day after the Attorney General’s Office opinion, campaign records show.
That entity, named “DGA New Hampshire PAO,” has accepted a number of funds, including a $3.2 million transfer from the Democratic Governors Association, and has transferred $800,000 to the Craig campaign and $3.1 million to the New Hampshire Democratic Party, as of the latest filings.
Blessing or a curse?
When the 2023 law passed, some welcomed it, arguing that New Hampshire has always had loopholes allowing large transfers of wealth to candidates. The new law, they argued, simply eased the process for major campaigns.
“I believe that money is speech, and so I’m opposed to placing limits on that,” said Rep. Joe Sweeney, an original sponsor of the legislation, in an interview last year.
Others, like Olivia Zink, were appalled. Zink, executive director of Open Democracy, an advocacy group that pushes to reduce money in political campaigns, says she worried last year that the law would bring in vast and unaccountable sums of money to the state.
This year, Zink feels she was proven right. And she argues lawmakers should return donation limits to campaigns.
“I think candidates need to answer who they’re getting their campaign cash from,” she said. “Voters are being flooded with ads, and if they’re being paid for by nondisclosed, out-of-state donors, is that how they’re going to run our state?”
New Hampshire
NH Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 Day winning numbers for May 4, 2026
The New Hampshire Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Monday, May 4, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 4 drawing
30-36-42-60-63, Powerball: 13, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 4 drawing
Day: 6-2-1
Evening: 3-3-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 4 drawing
Day: 7-9-1-8
Evening: 9-8-0-8
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Megabucks Plus numbers from May 4 drawing
01-05-33-34-41, Megaball: 05
Check Megabucks Plus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Gimme 5 numbers from May 4 drawing
23-27-29-37-38
Check Gimme 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 4 drawing
08-17-22-34-39, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the New Hampshire Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Pick 3, 4: 1:10 p.m. and 6:55 p.m. daily.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Megabucks Plus: 7:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
- Gimme 5: 6:55 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a New Hampshire managing editor. You can send feedback using this form.
New Hampshire
NH medical marijuana program added 2,100 new patients last year – Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
More than 2,100 new patients signed up with New Hampshire’s Therapeutic Cannabis Program last year, bringing the total registry to nearly 17,000, according to new state data.
That increase — about 14.5% from the year prior — is the largest since 2021.
Likely driving the growth were changes to state law in 2024 that allowed more people to qualify for medical marijuana use. They can now join the program at doctors’ discretion — which covers any debilitating or terminal condition or symptom, as long as their medical provider agrees the benefits of cannabis could outweigh the risks — or with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.
More than 900 patients list anxiety as their qualifying condition, according to the report issued this week by the state Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program.
“There was certainly an uptick in growth after those bills took effect in late 2024. It hasn’t skyrocketed, but has somewhat accelerated the growth of the program,” said Matt Simon, a lobbyist for GraniteLeaf Cannabis, one of three licensed cannabis providers in the state. “Where we’ve been, this extremely tiny program that was tiny for years, it is steadily growing.”
With 16,846 people, about 1.2% of the population are either certified patients or designated caregivers, who are authorized to buy cannabis on behalf of a patient. That’s close to one in every 84 Granite Staters.
The data released by the state was collected in June 2025. Simon estimates roughly 1,000 more people have joined since then.
The Therapeutic Cannabis Program, established in 2013, is the only way to lawfully consume marijuana in New Hampshire, as recreational use remains illegal. Patients require a doctor’s approval to join and receive a state-issued card that licenses them to buy medical cannabis products from seven dispensaries across the state, operated by three producers: GraniteLeaf Cannabis, Sanctuary Medicinals and Temescal Wellness.
The new data comes as the Trump administration reclassified medical marijuana last month as a less dangerous drug, effectively legitimizing programs run in 40 states, including New Hampshire’s. The change opens the door for more cannabis research and potential tax breaks for producers.

In New Hampshire, program demographics skew older. Nearly a quarter of patients are between 55 and 65 years old, and almost 70% of patients are over the age of 45. Pain is far and away the most common condition that people aim to treat with cannabis.
Patients are concentrated in southern New Hampshire and in towns where dispensaries, also called alternative treatment centers, are located. There are seven across the state in Chichester, Conway, Dover, Keene, Lebanon, Merrimack and Plymouth.
Concord has between 300 and 734 patients, according to the state data. Manchester has the most patients out of any municipality, at 1,150.
Despite the program’s growth, cost and accessibility remain a challenge. Jerry Knirk, a retired surgeon and state representative who now chairs the state’s Therapeutic Cannabis Medical Oversight Board, said New Hampshire’s strict regulatory environment plays a role.
“Part of the issue is we have a very high-quality, highly regulated program with testing of all products and lots of restrictions and things, and that does make things more expensive, but it’s how you keep the quality to be really high,” Knirk said. “We want to have really good quality. Unfortunately, it does make it a little bit harder.
One family of three spent $548 after discounts on a six-week supply of their medicine, which they use for chronic pain and other ailments, the Monitor reported last year.
Limited retail locations also mean that in some parts of the North Country, patients must drive upwards of an hour to obtain their medicine.
“The lack of dispensary locations, well, yeah, that is a problem,” Knirk said.
The oversight board, joined by other advocates, has pushed for laws to alleviate those concerns. Some of the biggest include allowing patients to grow their own medicine at home and letting dispensaries use outdoor greenhouses to cut down on electricity costs.
That legislation is introduced in the State House almost every year but is often torpedoed by Republicans’ concerns over security protocols.
While advocates expected little movement on marijuana policy under Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who opposes legalizing recreational use, the bill to allow greenhouse cultivation is nearing the finish line this session. Former governor Chris Sununu vetoed a similar bill two years ago; Ayotte hasn’t indicated whether she’d sign it.
Simon said that while cost and accessibility are still challenges, patient satisfaction with the program is improving.
“We started in a tough place with a lot of people really not liking the law and the program,” he said. “I think it’s been steady growth and steady improvement. Prices have come down somewhat, and the vibes are better.”
New Hampshire
Only a handful of New Hampshire farms are as old as the nation. Their endurance has relied on adaptability – Concord Monitor
Five major dairy farms populated the half-mile stretch of Upper City Road in Pittsfield where Tom Osborne’s childhood unfolded.
As he matured into young adulthood in the 1960s and 70s, the golden years of New England dairy were quietly waning in his backyard. All but one of those farms — enjoying the upward swing of technological progress in mechanical milking and refrigeration made during earlier decades — have deserted dairy, including the Osborne family, which sold its dairy cows in 1986.
Hours were long, and the work was unforgiving. Returns paled in comparison to those investments: The price of milk fluctuated with little predictability while investment grew costlier, often outweighing revenue. Towards the end of the lifetime of their dairy operation, Osborne remembers his late father, David, straining to eke out a third milking from their cows every day, one more than standard.
Resting on their shoulders was the endurance of a business already more than 200 years old. Now, the farm, founded in 1775, is marking its semiquincentennial, looking very different than how it did in the past.
“Over the years, we’ve had to evolve and not always do what we’ve always done. I think sometimes that’s a hard thing,” Osborne said. “You kind of feel like, ‘Hey, this is what we’ve always done, let’s keep doing what we do and what we know.’ But I think we’ve had to just learn.”
In 1976, the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food listed 56 legacy farms as enduring within the same family of owners for 200 years. As the nation now marks its semiquincentennial, 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, only a fraction of those farm enterprises remain, pastoral gems scattered across the state.
To shoulder the caprices of the industry, most have learned to adapt.
In 1938, a hurricane made landfall in Lebanon, tearing through Ascutney View Farm, razing a four-story chicken barn Susan Cole’s father had just built. When the storm subsided, family legend tells that there were chickens stranded in trees.
“Sometimes Mother Nature decides for us,” Cole said Friday morning, representing her family farm, founded in 1771, at the New Hampshire Farm, Forest and Garden Exposition. “You have to be a flexible mind.”
Her father passed away at 102, having worked their 1,100 acres of forested and pasture land his whole life. The 100 dairy cows Cole remembers showing as a child through 4H were gradually sold, and today, the family keeps 60 sheep and taps 2,100 maple trees. Her husband manages the brunt of the manual labor, but without her full-time work in real estate, Cole said the farm would not be viable.
“Having no outside income is not an option,” she said.
Their family’s approach isn’t altogether uncommon. In 2022, farmers in New Hampshire whose primary occupation was one other than farming outnumbered farmers who made their income primarily from their land, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nearly 60% had an off-farm job that they listed as their main source of income.
For the Osbornes, bifurcating the family business proved to be a more enduring shield against the financial riptides of the industry.
While his brother Paul maintains the farm, Tom Osborne inherited from his father an expanding retail chain, Osborne’s Farm and Garden Centers, with locations in Concord, Hooksett and Belmont.
The year after the family sold its cows, they opened their first Osborne’s Agway Store, selling farm supplies. The farm continued to see changes: Their small horticultural operation has plateaued over the years; land that used to sprout corn has been seeded for hay.
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Osborne cultivates 25,000 hay bales each season and resells more from other producers in his stores, but even the crop’s relative success hasn’t insulated the farm from uncontrollable, unpredictable challenges. The last two summers have yielded the best hay seasons in recent memory — for them and for their neighbors and competitors.
Hiring has rebounded in Osborne’s stores since COVID, but labor challenges still cast a long shadow over farm operations, especially for Heidi Bundy at Tomapo Farm in Lebanon.
Bundy knows the history of their land, inexorably entwined with the history of her family: In the mid 1800s, the family owned hundreds of sheep as wool boomed. They shifted to dairy with a herd of Jersey cows, which were displaced by black-and-white Holsteins by the time she was a child.
In 1970, her father and grandfather, by then equal business partners, reckoning with the decline of dairy, reached an impasse: either stay in or get out. They chose the latter.
During the ten years her grandfather, Howard Townsend, served as the state’s commissioner of agriculture, her father ran the farm himself, logging alone in the woods for months at a time. “We diversified, and we’ll probably continue to have to be diversified,” Bunday said.
That decisive hour came for the Osbornes’ dairy operation two years later. Around 1972, Osborne said, his father questioned whether to throw in the towel on dairy, choosing instead to prolong the inevitable.
“I think my dad, in his later years, regretted taking on more debt to stay afloat,” he said.
Their farms, generational bulwarks, have lived continuous evolutions.
The future approaches with greater uncertainty.
Of Bundy’s five children, she said none feel compelled to take on the farm. She’s promised her parents a place to live out the remainder of their days, and she’s going to “keep on doing what I can do” to ensure that she honors her word.
“If I have to leave the farm, I can do it,” she reflected. “I won’t be happy about it, though.”
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