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New Hampshire

At the Democratic National Convention, breakfast isn’t just bacon and eggs – The Boston Globe

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At the Democratic National Convention, breakfast isn’t just bacon and eggs – The Boston Globe


At the national party conventions, state delegation breakfasts are in part organizational events, where weary state party staffers hand out credentials and preview the day’s schedule, not unlike camp counselors rallying their adult wards for the day. But the gatherings also offer revealing glimpses at political up-and-comers, who spend their early-morning hours with the party faithful they will need to secure higher office down the line. Their remarks are typically brief — sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt, always laudatory of the state they’re addressing. For strong speakers, they end in standing ovations.

Savvy politicos make the rounds, moving with discipline from hotel ballroom to hotel ballroom and often hitting multiple breakfasts per day. Not all 50 are created equal: The A-list speakers pay particular attention to battlegrounds, influential delegations, and, of course, the early nominating states that could decide their fates should they pursue the presidency.

That elite status was clear this week for humble New Hampshire, with a breakfast speaker line up that included many of the party’s buzziest names. Vermont’s breakfast may have had maple syrup shots, but its New England neighbor heard from a who’s who of the party’s up and comers, including some who have run for president before or are looking to in the future, and some who were under consideration to serve as Harris’s running mate. Delegates enjoyed bacon, eggs, and potatoes as speakers addressed them from a podium flanked by inflatable coconut trees, an apparent tribute to the now-famous Harris line.

Not every state got the same attention. Shapiro was on the schedule to speak to a Massachusetts breakfast on Thursday, but did not appear. He did not miss his appointment with the New Hampshire delegation Wednesday morning, though.

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The status of the state’s first-in-the-nation primary is uncertain on the Democratic side, after the national party pushed it later in the nominating calendar and New Hampshire rebelled. But the early contest, and the outsize power it gives this state of just 1.4 million people, was nonetheless at the center of the conversation.

“Speaking of New Hampshire, the primary is back!” laughed retiring New Hampshire Congresswoman Annie Kuster as she introduced Booker to the delegation on Thursday morning.

“I’m like, it’s home,” Booker said as he took the podium to applause. “I just love your state. I spent so much time there — I don’t know if you all know this, I ran for president in 2020.”

Ten minutes later, the crowd was on its feet applauding him, and state party chair Raymond Buckley had to chastise attendees for lining up for selfies and delaying the rest of the stacked program.

“You know, Cory Booker’s been to New Hampshire about 455 times, and he’s coming back,” Buckley chided.

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For some of the state’s youngest delegates, access to the party’s future stars has been a highlight of the convention.

“Who’s gonna be there in ‘28, and who’s gonna be there in ‘32, and how many meals have we already had with them?” laughed Samay Sahu, a 20-year-old Dartmouth student. “Have I met them already? Have we taken a selfie?”

New Hampshire is “small” but “mighty,” Sahu added, crediting the primary for its political power.

Khanna, the California congressman seen as having presidential ambitions, attended more than a dozen state delegation breakfasts this week. A prominent poster near the New Hampshire delegation’s breakfast buffet thanked its sponsors; Khanna was at the top, and he was one of the few sponsors who did not live in the Granite State.

“I have gone to Michigan, to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin,” Khanna told reporters on Tuesday, naming a slate of battleground states as he spoke about the importance of introducing delegates to “the next generation of talent.”

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“It’s about getting the right economic message for the party and figuring out what the right message is to win in the fall and going and talking to delegates, talking to people across the breakfasts, helps you figure that out,” he said.

And does the ambitious congressman have particular affection for the first-in-the-nation primary state?

“I love New Hampshire because it’s a state that values ideas. It’s a state that values retail politics,” Khanna said. He added that he has long been a supporter of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, “and I’m pretty confident that it’ll have a big role going forward.”

Paying extra attention to states such as New Hampshire is nothing new in national politics. It was a similar scene at the Republican National Convention last month in Milwaukee, where onetime presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy sponsored a breakfast for the state, his smiling face featured on posters outside the room. The state’s Republican delegation heard from Ramaswamy and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Bill Shaheen, husband of Senator Jeanne Shaheen and DNC committeeman for New Hampshire, said in an interview after breakfast Thursday that his state “has a tradition of being involved and being active, and I think we can help give these people who want to run for president guidance.”

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Sahu, who introduced Boston Mayor Michelle Wu when she addressed the New Hampshire breakfast earlier this week, said he was “bawling” when they heard from Buttigieg, whom he reveres.

“The thing is, even though we’re seeing them, and I get to be, what, two feet away from Wes Moore, it’s almost not that big of a deal,” Sahu added. “Because he’s gonna come back to New Hampshire.”


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Emma Platoff can be reached at emma.platoff@globe.com. Follow her @emmaplatoff.





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New Hampshire

N.H. State Police Director Mark Hall got two pay raises in 2025. Here’s why. – The Boston Globe

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N.H. State Police Director Mark Hall got two pay raises in 2025. Here’s why. – The Boston Globe


The director of the New Hampshire State Police, who already got a pay bump earlier this year, secured a second raise on Wednesday that’s set to take effect before 2026 arrives.

Colonel Mark B. Hall, who has been State Police director for a little over two years, was unanimously approved by the Executive Council to begin earning an annual salary of about $171,300 later this month. That is 25.7 percent higher than what he was earning a year ago.

Department of Safety Commissioner Robert L. Quinn said the increase is needed to resolve a disparity between Hall’s salary and that of a lieutenant colonel who works under him. Quinn cited a provision of state law that authorizes compensation above the typical statutory maximum if an unclassified employee’s salary would otherwise be less than that of a subordinate classified employee.

In this case, Hall’s raise is designed to keep his salary $1,000 higher than that of Lieutenant Colonel Matthew S. Shapiro, who is serving as State Police executive major. (The council has used this mechanism for other positions this year as well.)

Hall actually saw his overall pay dip a bit after he transitioned into the top State Police job. In 2022, when he was a captain, Hall was paid about $132,000, counting overtime, holiday pay, and more, according to TransparentNH records. Two years later, as director in 2024, he was paid about $129,900, all regular pay.

That said, in switching from a classified position to his unclassified post in 2023, Hall was able to cash out the unused paid time off he had accrued. That contributed to a payout of more than $72,000, which resulted in his being paid a total of about $216,100 that year, according to records from the New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services.

Hall didn’t respond this week to a request for comment from The Boston Globe about his raise, though a spokesperson for the Department of Safety provided information in response to questions.

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Other updates from the State House:

  • Republican lawmakers tried to salvage their 2025 legislation that Governor Kelly Ayotte vetoed, but every single override vote failed. (Read more)
  • In the wake of a deadly shooting at Brown University, state lawmakers are calling for 2026 legislation to override gun-free policies on New Hampshire campuses. (Read more)

This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, sign up here.


Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.





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Video Pilot survives after small plane crash in New Hampshire, fire officials say

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Video Pilot survives after small plane crash in New Hampshire, fire officials say


Pilot survives after small plane crash in New Hampshire, fire officials say

A small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in Nashua, outside Boston. Fire officials say the pilot was the only one onboard and was able to escape with the help of bystanders.

December 17, 2025



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New Hampshire

Police investigate Walpole shooting incident

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Police investigate Walpole shooting incident


Walpole Police and New Hampshire State Police are investigating a shooting incident at Jiffy Mart in Walpole, N.H. on Route 12. Police report no danger to the community. One person was transported for injuries to Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, N.H.

No other information is available at this time.

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