Republican Elizabeth Girard announced that she is running for New Hampshire’s First Congressional District in the 2026 midterm election. Cabinet photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

BEDFORD – Before a small group of supporters, Republican Elizabeth Girard officially announced her candidacy for New Hampshire’s First Congressional District in the 2026 midterm election.

“New Hampshire has a voice and Washington is about to hear it,” she said during her 15-minute announcement at the Bedford Village Inn on Nov. 10. “Speaking up when it ruffles feathers takes courage.”

If elected to serve the First District, Girard said she would “crush the cost of living.”

According to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, last year’s median income for a family of four was $99,782. That figure was $1,906 short of the combined cost of basic living expenses.

Other priorities for Girard would include removing government from the private sector, putting an end to drug trafficking, defending veterans and protecting women. She also vowed to cut through the red tape that is smothering small businesses from Bedford to North Conway.

In addition, Girard maintained that the district’s Congressional leadership has flipped four times in the past six years. However, for the past seven years, the district has been represented by Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH), who is vacating his seat to run for U.S. Senate.

Girard will have a tall mountain to climb during the next 12 months. According to the Federal Election Commission, five other Republicans are also running for the First District seat in next year’s primary election. The winner will then face off against one of seven Democrats in the general election next November.

A former president of the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women, Girard resigned in December 2023 under a storm of controversy when she cast her support for then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump. Girard was accused of violating the NHFRW rule that prohibits its leaders from endorsing a candidate during a GOP primary election.

Following her tenure with the NHFRW, Girard, a 2016 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, served as co-chairwoman of Trump’s New Hampshire campaign in 2024. She also ran for New Hampshire’s Republican National Committee and was defeated by Mary Jane Beauregard.