New Hampshire House Republicans held a tongue-in-cheek press conference, featuring House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, launching a “Republicans for Ray” website to credit Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley for GOP successes in cutting taxes and expanding school choice, NH Journal reports.
According to NH Journal, a GOP lawmaker offered mock thanks at the event.
“Without him, we wouldn’t have passed Educational Freedom Accounts. We wouldn’t have had the efforts we’ve had to protect parental rights, to cut taxes, to reduce red tape,” said Rep. Joe Sweeney (R-Salem).
NH Journal
The new website carried the same message.
“With Ray Buckley as the New Hampshire Democrat Party Chair, Republicans Have Delivered Results for New Hampshire!” the website reads.
NH Journal
The presser was lighthearted but pointed, NH Journal notes.
The presser, which featured House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn), was tongue in cheek, of course. But that didn’t mean it didn’t have bite.
NH Journal
The event came as Buckley sought another term amid an internal challenge.
Buckley is facing the state Democratic Party committee this Saturday , asking for another two-year term as chairman.
NH Journal
A group of party members had recently criticized his tenure, NH Journal reports.
He’s being challenged by Rockingham County Democratic Party chair Mat Stover, one of a dozen high-profile party members who released a memo last month bemoaning the party’s poor performance under Buckley’s leadership over the past decade.
NH Journal
Republicans used the occasion to highlight what they describe as a decade of GOP gains, pointing to election results and policy wins, NH Journal reports. The memo noted the Republican share of the vote in two open-seat governor’s races grew from Gov. Chris Sununu’s 51.2 percent in 2016 to Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s 54.8 percent in November.
The tongue-in-cheek event allowed Republicans to tout their record while needling the opposing party at a vulnerable moment, NH Journal reports. With Buckley facing a leadership challenge and internal criticism, the GOP tied its message to the 2026 midterms, casting itself as the alternative to a Democratic Party it argued had underperformed for years.
The Republicans for Ray rollout was a piece of political theater aimed at crediting the opposing party’s chairman for GOP successes on taxes and school choice, NH Journal reports. The website and press conference framed Buckley’s tenure as a gift to Republicans.
The timing was pointed, coming as Buckley sought another two-year term amid a challenge and an internal memo criticizing the party’s performance over the past decade, according to NH Journal. Republicans cited the party’s growing share of the vote in open-seat governor’s races, from 51.2 percent in 2016 to 54.8 percent in 2024, as evidence of a long-running trend they tied to the 2026 midterms.
The tongue-in-cheek event allowed Republicans to tout their record while needling the opposing party at a vulnerable moment, NH Journal reports. With Buckley facing a leadership challenge and internal criticism, the GOP used the occasion to cast itself as the alternative to a Democratic Party it argued had underperformed for a decade.
Read the full story at NH Journal.
