Hope Damon
Serving as: NH House Sullivan County District 08
These objective, nonpartisan measures are used to show this legislator's activities at the Statehouse in 2025 and 2026. The measures are not intended to present a ranking or rating of any kind. Average is that of all state elected officials in this chamber. Gov. Ayotte is still in the process of signing and vetoing 2026 bills, so the number of prime sponsored bills that became law may increase.
Session days attended
Party unity score/partisanship
Participated in official roll call votes
Bills sponsored (as prime sponsor)
Prime sponsored bills that became law
Completed our 2024 State Candidate Survey
Position on Issues
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Do you support the “Education Freedom Account” program, which gives students access to the per-pupil share of state school funding to spend on private school or home school expenses?
"Since it's inception, the voucher program has primarily funded students who were not previously attending public schools. We are using public funds to provide stipends to rich families and to support religious education. NH cannot afford this dual education model - our taxpayer funds should be used to improve public schools. Further, the USA was founded on separation of church and state - and that is essential to all being able to safely practice their religion of choice. We should not be paying for schools that practice segregation - whether it is for religion, socio-economic status, race, sexuality, etc."Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should New Hampshire ban abortions during the first trimester (e.g. after 6 weeks gestation)?
"These are personal decisions. Government should not be interfering in private healthcare."Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should New Hampshire ban abortions during the second trimester (e.g. after 15 weeks gestation)?
"These are personal decisions. Government should not be interfering in private healthcare."Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should NH add an income tax on earned income?
"It is essential that the state have adequate revenues for basic services to citizens while reducing the local property tax burden that is simply unsustainable for many hard-working Granite Staters. Rather than an income tax, we should restore the Interest and Dividends tax, stop giving tax breaks to huge multinational corporations such as Amazon, Apple and Walmart and make responsible state budget decisions including not funding vouchers for private schools."Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2024
Should NH add a broad-based sales tax?
"Sales taxes are regressive taxes that hurt middle and low income people while not effecting the wealthy significantly. This is not a good choice for NH."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should New Hampshire lower business taxes?
"I support a tiered business tax structure that minimizes taxes for truly small businesses and recognizes that taxing larger businesses is a necessary revenue source for the state."For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2024
Should New Hampshire add a tax on capital gains?
"A capital gains tax would generate a significant amount of needed revenue for the state while not adversely effecting low and middle income earners."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2024
Should New Hampshire government do more to address climate change?
"NH is far behind our neighboring states in responding to climate change. It has and will continue to cost us dearly as our energy costs rise while we ignore utilizing a variety of clean energy sources. The severe road damages from repeated flooding, the adverse impact on our ski and lakes tourism industry, cyanobacteria episodes in so many lakes - these are all consequences of not addressing climate change. We can do much better!"
Undecided| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2024
Do you support giving voters who register without ID on Election Day a ballot that only counts if they return identifying documents to the state before a deadline?
"I value our existing free, fair and safe elections. The issue of fraudulent voter access has been hugely exaggerated. I could only support requiring documents for a ballot to count if the deadline was feasible in the context of how long it actual takes to receive those documents. The real issue here is voter suppression not fraudulent voting."
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should the state do more to encourage municipalities to remove zoning barriers to housing development?
"One-size-fits-all does not work for NH zoning. It is essential to pass enabling legislation that helps local housing development. The state must be much more effective at creatively helping communities address the housing crisis. If relying only on local approaches worked, we would not have the housing shortage and lack of affordability that we face. There are many effective approaches besides zoning. The state should be developing public/private partnerships to develop workforce housing, helping municipalities increase water and sewer infracture, host a communications campaign to improve understanding of off-site build homes and encouraging greater density in selective locations."For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Do you support legislation to expand the net energy metering system capacity cap from 1 MW to 5 MW for all residential and commercial customers in New Hampshire?
"NH is far behind all the other New England states in promoting clean energy. In addition to the considerable environmental benefits of increasing solar energy use, net metering is one of the necessary approaches to making NH an affordable and desirable place to live. We simply cannot afford to only rely on fossil fuels from elsewhere."For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should New Hampshire guarantee the right to access abortion before 24 weeks?
"These are personal decisions. Government should not be interfering in private healthcare."For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2024
Should the state increase funding for child care providers?
"Child care is a fundamental need for an economically thriving society. It keeps children safe and healthy, helps them develop skills for success in school which reduces future special education costs. Currently 16,500 parents in NH are not working because they are unable to access childcare. Meanwhile, skilled child care providers earn, on average, $13 hourly or $27,040 annually which is not a livable wage. Most child care providers do not make a livable wage to support their own families. We are watching the available child care slots decrease as providers leave for more sustainable work."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Do you support New Hampshire’s current system of public school funding, with about two-thirds of total funding coming from local property taxes?
"I serve on the House Education Funding committee. Public schools are essential not only for the current students and their families but for a sustainable strong economy. The current funding system unfairly burdens people living in communities that do not have a strong tax base. It pits neighbors in one affluent community against those nearby without the same resources - that results in profoundly different resources for schools. We must increase state funding of public schools for both fairness and consistent quality regardless of zip code. Collectively, NH raises enough education funding when all of the local property taxes are considered - but it is not distributed equitably. We need to fix that broken system. Every state has better state funding of public education."For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by allowing home-growing and private use without sales?
"Every other New England state is profiting from marijuana sales. There is more risk from legal alcohol consumption than from legal cannabis products - NH needs to catch up with today's knowledge. Marijuana is not a gateway drug - but purchasing it illegally increases risk of contamination with other harmful drugs. Licensed sales of clean product would be safer."For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by licensing growers and private retail locations?
"Every other New England state is profiting from marijuana sales. There is more risk from legal alcohol consumption than from legal cannabis products - NH needs to catch up with today's knowledge. Marijuana is not a gateway drug - but purchasing it illegally increases risk of contamination with other harmful drugs. Licensed sales of clean product would be safer."For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by establishing state-run cannabis stores?
"Every other New England state is profiting from marijuana sales. There is more risk from legal alcohol consumption than from legal cannabis products - NH needs to catch up with today's knowledge. Marijuana is not a gateway drug - but purchasing it illegally increases risk of contamination with other harmful drugs. Licensed sales of clean product would be safer."For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2024
Should New Hampshire raise the minimum wage?
"It is essential to our civilized society that all adults are able to provide for their family's basic needs with an adequate income from full time work. NH minimum wage follows the federal requirement which has not changedsince 2009. At $7.25/hour, a full time employee earns just $15080 per year. You could easily need all of that or more just for housing and have nothing left for food, healthcare, transportation, child care etc. Not paying a livable wage to hard-working Granite Staters creates more expense for government, as people then turn to food assistance programs, lack health care (which ultimately costs more when medical crises happen). People earning minimum wage cannot afford childcare which leads to neglect or the person not working at all in order to care for their children."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2024
Should New Hampshire add legal protections for residents of other states who travel here for health care related to abortion or gender transition?
"The overturn of Roe v Wade and the subsequent restrictions on abortions in many states has created an environment that threatens health care providers. This will result in less pregnancy care as providers decide it isn't worth the risk to practice in states where their medical license could be at risk simply for providing life-saving care. It is completely unacceptable for women to have different legal access to healthcare contingent on their zip code. We should be protecting women who travel to NH for abortions and we should be protecting abortion providers."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should New Hampshire repeal the ban on abortion after 24 weeks gestation?
"These are personal decisions. Government should not be interfering in private healthcare."Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2024
Should NH require local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement?
"Local law enforcement in most communities work very hard to be trusted and connected with the people they serve including with immigrant populations. It isn't the responsibility of local law enforcement to be adjunct federal immigration officials. We should be welcoming legal immigrants as our business community sorely needs their work. Unless you are native American, you are an immigrant or descended from one."
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2026
Should NH pass stricter gun control laws?
"Improving firearms safety and protecting Second Amendment rights should not be mutually exclusive - we can do both!! By far, the majority of firearms deaths in NH are suicide. Simply increasing the waiting period for firearms purchases and applying it to all firearms sales, is a well-established approach to decreasing suicides. We should also have passed the voluntary do-not-sell legislation so that people who recognize their mental health is not appropriate for owning a firearm are protected from access. Finally, a very carefully crafted law to create Extreme Risk Protection Orders would reduce domestic violence harms. None of these measures removes firearms from reasonable, mentally healthy people."