New Hampshire
Top Trump volunteer in Mass. no longer with campaign after warning New Hampshire is ‘no longer a battleground state’ – The Boston Globe
A top Trump volunteer in Massachusetts “will no longer have any involvement” in the campaign after he sent an email Sunday evening raising alarm about the Republican ticket’s chances in neighboring New Hampshire.
Tom Mountain, who had served as one of several vice chairs for the former president’s effort in Massachusetts, wrote in an email to Trump volunteers in the state that “the campaign has determined that New Hampshire is no longer a battleground state,” and advised supporters to instead direct their attention to Pennsylvania. The GOP had been bullish about winning New Hampshire before President Biden dropped out of the race.
In the email, Mountain, a former official with the Massachusetts GOP, said Trump was “sure to lose by an even higher margin” in New Hampshire than in 2016 and 2020, citing “campaign data/research.” He claimed resources would be suspended and the campaign would not send Trump or high-profile surrogates such as his sons. The email was obtained by the Globe and confirmed with multiple recipients.
Republicans in New England and the Trump campaign were quick to rebut Mountain’s email and dismiss him as a mere volunteer not privy to internal deliberations about campaign strategy or plans for a state that is not his own.
Brian Hughes, senior advisor to the Trump campaign, said to call Mountain a “leading volunteer” would be a “massive overstatement of his involvement” and added that “due to this ridiculous misrepresentation of our ongoing operation in New Hampshire, he will no longer have any involvement going forward.”
“This isn’t true,” Hughes said of Mountain’s email. “President Trump’s campaign maintains an on-the-ground presence in New Hampshire, including staff and offices, while Kamala Harris is parachuting in because she knows that the Granite State is in play. We look forward to building on the momentum that we have grown since the primary and sending New Hampshire’s four electoral votes to President Trump’s column on November 5.”
The Republican National Committee did not answer questions, however, about what resources it is sending to New Hampshire, or any plans for campaign events there. Trump has not appeared in New Hampshire since he won its first-in-the-nation primary in January, and it has been months since the state has had a visit from a top surrogate, such as North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum in April.
Steve Stepanek, who leads Trump’s campaign in New Hampshire, said Mountain “obviously has no idea what is going on in NH because he is from Massachusetts” but did not respond to further questions.
Even as Mountain’s message rankled many of his fellow Republicans, who complained he was uninformed or speaking out of turn, it underscored deep concerns among some in the GOP that having Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket makes Democrats more competitive in swing states such as New Hampshire. Mountain declined an interview request.
New Hampshire is a purple state, with a Democratic congressional delegation and a Republican governor, but it has not voted for a Republican for president in more than 20 years. This year, with Biden at the top of the ticket, the GOP there was optimistic about taking the state back for Trump.
But since Harris ascended to the top of the ticket and built new momentum on the Democratic side, the race in Republican reach states such as New Hampshire has appeared to tighten. A recent poll found Harris leading Trump in the state, and she is expected to appear in New Hampshire this week. The Cook Political Report recently moved the state from “lean” to “likely” Democratic, another indication of Harris’s strength there. Given that challenge, as well as how few electoral votes New Hampshire carries — just four — it may not be worth investing in, some New England Republicans quietly acknowledge.
Two leading Massachusetts Republicans told the Globe they were not aware of any shift in the Trump campaign’s strategy for New England.
Janet Fogarty, the Republican National Committeewoman for Massachusetts, said in an interview Sunday that New Hampshire is “an important state.”
She said Republican volunteers from reliably blue Massachusetts flock north to campaign in New Hampshire every four years, and she did not expect 2024 to be any different. Of Mountain’s email, she said, “there’s no there there.”
For his part, Mountain wrote in his email that “the Dems’ campaign shakeup from Biden to Harris led our campaign to shift strategy to other winnable battleground states.”
“So for those who were active in the NH ground campaign in 2016 and 2020, and expected to do the same after Labor Day, the simple question is… what are we to do?” Mountain wrote. “GO TO PENNSYLVANIA. The nearest battleground state. This is a must-win state. If we lose Pennsylvania we lose the election.”
A former vice chairman of the Massachusetts GOP, Mountain stepped down from the role in 2021 in the wake of what he called a “scurrilous and demeaning” blog post about his personal life.
Emma Platoff can be reached at emma.platoff@globe.com. Follow her @emmaplatoff.
New Hampshire
Newly released Epstein photos include NH businessman and Segway inventor Dean Kamen
Editor’s note: This story may be updated as we verify additional details.
A newly released photograph shows New Hampshire businessman and inventor Dean Kamen with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as English billionaire Richard Branson outside on what appears to be a beach. The image was part of the latest batch of files published by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Friday, as part of an ongoing inquiry into Epstein.
Kamen, who is 74, has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to his time spent with Epstein. It isn’t clear how often the men traveled together, or when they were last in communication.
Kamen’s name has previously appeared in a flight log connected to Epstein, but this is the first public image of the two together.
Kamen, who is 74, has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to his time spent with Epstein. It isn’t clear how often the men traveled together, or when they were last in communication.
The photo of Epstein, Kamen and Branson — the British entrepreneur behind Virgin Atlantic and other companies — is undated. No other context was provided for the image.
NHPR attempted to contact Kamen on Friday morning by email for comment through two associates who have worked closely with him in recent years, but did not immediately receive a response.
Kamen’s name previously appeared in a 2003 flight log for Epstein’s private jet. The flight entry references a trip from John F. Kennedy airport in New York to Monterey, California.
Kamen is himself an avid pilot, who at times has commuted from his home in Bedford to his offices in Manchester via a personal helicopter. After finding early success designing medical devices, Kamen minted his status as a celebrity inventor in 2001, when he rolled out the Segway personal transport device on national television.
(Kamen served on NHPR’s Board of Trustees from 1987 to 1992.)
Epstein died in 2019 as he awaited trial on a range of criminal charges related to child sex trafficking and abuse.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime accomplice, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for aiding in that sex trafficking operation. Before her arrest, Maxwell was living in a secluded home in Bradford, New Hampshire.
It isn’t clear how Maxwell came to live in New Hampshire, or if she had any relationship with Kamen.
Epstein’s relationships with powerful figures including President Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, among others, has been a major source of controversy in Washington, with a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers calling for the release of records.
Last month, Trump signed a measure ordering the Justice Department to release more materials related to its investigations into Epstein, following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. It isn’t clear what those files, which are expected to be released, in part, next week, may contain.
In recent years, Kamen has become the central figure in a massive government-funded project in Manchester that aims to one day develop medical technologies that could help regrow human tissues and organs. The project has been championed by powerful figures in New Hampshire, including Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
New Hampshire
Is Hannaford open Christmas Day 2025? Target? See what’s open and closed in NH
How to save time while grocery shopping
Cut grocery shopping time in half with these tips.
ProblemSolved, USA TODAY
Cooking your Christmas dinner and missing that one key ingredient? In New Hampshire, you might find it difficult to locate an open grocery store on Dec. 25.
New Hampshire state laws don’t restrict grocery stores from opening on Christmas Day, which falls on a Thursday this year.
But while most businesses are allowed to open, many still opt to close in observance of the December holiday. You should check a shop’s hours or call ahead before heading over.
Here’s what to know about New Hampshire grocery stores on Christmas Day.
Are any grocery stores open on Christmas in NH? Market Basket? Hannaford?
Several grocery store chains, like BJ’s Wholesale Club, ALDI, Market Basket, and Costco, will be closed on Christmas. Target, which sells groceries, will also be closed on Dec. 25. So will Walmart and Trader Joe’s.
Most Hannaford locations in New Hampshire, like those in Portsmouth, Dover, Nashua, and Manchester, will be closed on Christmas Day.
Most Shaw’s locations will be closed on the holiday, as well as most Price Chopper and Market 32 stores.
All Price Rite locations, including the Manchester store, will be closed on Dec. 25, according to a company spokesperson.
Additionally, Whole Foods said all of its stores will be closed on Christmas.
While more New Hampshire grocery stores will be open on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) than on Christmas Day, many chains will operate with limited hours.
Are liquor stores open on Christmas in New Hampshire?
All 67 of New Hampshire’s state-run liquor stores will be closed on Christmas this year, according to the N.H. Liquor Commission.
Will convenience stores be open on Christmas? What about pharmacies?
Most businesses, like gas stations, restaurants, and pharmacies, are allowed to open on Christmas.
Certain Cumberland Farms, CVS, and Walgreens locations have opened on Dec. 25 in previous years.
However, many shops still close on certain holidays to give employees time with their families. It’s best to call ahead and check.
Melina Khan of USA TODAY and Margie Cullen of the USA Today Network contributed to this report.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire 6-year-old tests positive for cocaine, cannabis; mother faces multiple charges
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A New Hampshire woman was charged with child endangerment and witness tampering after her daughter ingested a THC gummy and later tested positive for cannabinoids and cocaine, according to officials.
The incident prompted a police investigation after the state Division for Children, Youth and Families notified the Nashua Police Department Nov. 3.
According to a release shared by Nashua Police Department, detectives learned the 6-year-old had been hospitalized following the ingestion and that her mother, Paige Goulet, allegedly told a witness not to cooperate with investigators.
DRUG-LACED CANDY DISGUISED AS KIDS’ TREATS FUELS NEW HALLOWEEN SAFETY WARNING FOR PARENTS: POLICE
The Nashua Police Department took custody of Goulet and formally charged her. (Nashua Police Department)
“While at the hospital, the juvenile victim tested positive for the illegal drugs, cannabinoids, and cocaine,” the release said.
“Detectives learned that Goulet had told a witness not to cooperate with the police investigation, and detectives determined that Goulet had neglected her duty to care for her juvenile daughter.”
Goulet, 30, was arrested Monday by Meredith police on a felony warrant for tampering with witnesses involved in the Nashua police investigation.
GUATEMALAN NATIONAL FREED WITHOUT BAIL IN THC GUMMIES CASE THAT SENT 12 MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS TO THE HOSPITAL
Nashua police determined Goulet had neglected her duty to care for her daughter. (Wang Zhao/AFP/GettyImages)
She was taken into custody by Nashua police and formally charged.
She is facing charges of tampering with witnesses and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the release.
FLORIDA PARENTS ARRESTED AFTER 4-YEAR-OLD TWINS ALLEGEDLY SHOT THEMSELVES
Paige Goulet was taken to the Nashua Police Department and charged with witness tampering and child endangerment after her daughter’s THC gummy ingestion. (Google Maps)
Goulet was released on $300 cash bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Nashua District Court Jan. 7.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Meredith and Nashua police departments for comment.
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