With Senate District 8 Republican Ruth Ward of Stoddard declining to seek re-election, Democrat David Trumble of Weare is facing Republican state Rep. James Creighton of Antrim in the Nov. 3 election.

The district covers 20 municipalities in parts of four counties — Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack and Sullivan — and includes Claremont, Newport, Croydon, Charlestown, Sunapee and Unity.

Trumble, 68, a certified organic farmer, was defeated by Ward two years ago and ran an unsuccessful campaign for the New Hampshire House in 2022. Creighton has served six years in the House. Both candidates won uncontested primaries on Sept. 8.

If voters send him to Concord, Trumble said he has a number of ideas he wants to pursue, with the overall goal of making New Hampshire more affordable to attract more young families and workers and help grow the state economy. He thinks the state has a larger role to play in improving citizens’ lives and public schools.

“We need to build the economy in our state from the bottom up with a strong working class that can say, ‘I can make a living here,’” Trumble said in a phone interview. “We have got to realize that with housing and child care costs, we are not going to be a state young people want to come to.”

Creighton, 66, had a 30-year Army career, retiring as a colonel. Creighton said that after moving 23 times, he and his wife never considered retiring anywhere other than New Hampshire, and they have lived here since 2015. His primary campaign message includes opposing any broad-based tax for the state and keeping New Hampshire’s tax burden low, which he said ranks third-lowest in the country. He also stresses his support for veterans, including working to improve their access to medical and mental health care.

“Maintaining that tax advantage is important to me,” Creighton said in a phone interview.

Bringing his philosophy of serving others to the Senate is in keeping with the state’s motto, he said.

“Live Free or Die really represents who the people are. It is about what you can give to your community, not what the community gives to you. Serving your nation, community and family, that is sort of who I am. Being in the Senate will allow me to serve at a greater level and reach out to more people and help more people.”

Both candidates were asked their positions on several issues, including education funding, Education Freedom Accounts, housing and data centers.

Education Freedom Accounts give families state education money to spend on private school tuition, homeschooling and other approved expenses. Lawmakers removed the program’s income limit in 2025.

Trumble has several criticisms of EFAs. He said the program has not become a school choice program to help lower-income families, as advertised by Republicans. Only about 10% of students using EFAs left public schools to join the program, he said, while the rest were already in private school or homeschooled. He also argues that EFAs draw money from the Education Trust Fund, which was set up to fund public schools, and that participating private schools can reject students with significant special education needs.

“They don’t accept all children with special education needs. It is not a choice for everybody but a choice for a few,” Trumble said, adding that the program does not save public schools money. “I believe there needs to be accountability (on how the money is spent). EFAs should only go to families with limited financial means and should not be funding people on the top of the income bracket.”

On the debate over state funding of education, Trumble said the Legislature needs a long-term plan to increase the per-pupil adequacy grant, which is now about $4,300, to meet its constitutional duty to fund public schools. Additional per-pupil aid goes to students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, receive special education services or are learning English.

“I think we need to set a goal over a period of time, say 10 years, and each biennial budget set a benchmark to increase funding,” Trumble said. “That will allow time to come up with adequate funds. Eventually the state would get to a point where it is funding its fair share.”

As for revenue, Trumble said the state has lost about $180 million a year from the elimination of the Interest and Dividends Tax and about $1 billion over the last 10 years from cuts to the Business Profits Tax. That money would be a good start toward proper state funding levels, he argues.

Creighton comes at the question of education funding and EFAs differently than Trumble. He said one of the state’s roles in public education is to provide as many educational environments as possible, and EFAs are part of that.

“We in the state Legislature should facilitate education so when the kids graduate, they will have maximized their potential,” Creighton said, adding that the $50 million spent on EFAs is a very small percentage of the $4 billion spent annually on public schools and that EFAs do not raise property taxes. “What I look for is the ability of the state to facilitate parents making decisions for their kids to have the best education.”

Creighton said he has spoken to parents whose children were struggling in public schools but now thrive at a private school with EFA money. He also said those parents told him there is a lot of paperwork associated with EFAs to validate all expenses. “They are being held accountable and they like that.”

Before increasing the state’s adequacy grant, Creighton wants to take a closer look at where the money is being spent.

“Enrollment is decreasing but we are seeing a continuing increase in cost,” Creighton said. “Administrative costs are up as much as 60%. I think we can do a better job figuring out where the money is going and not just add another billion dollars.”

Creighton said he backs the school tax cap question that will appear on local ballots in November. Under a new state law, voters in every town will decide whether to limit increases in their school district’s property taxes to the rate of inflation for two years, with capital costs excluded. The question needs 60% approval to pass. It is not a reduction, Creighton said, but a cap.

“People are saying, ‘We are paying enough. We don’t want to pay any more,’” he said.

Trumble opposes the cap, calling it a distraction from state policies that continually underfund public education and saying it will lead to things like deferred maintenance.

“At a practical level, these forced budget cuts would tie the hands of school boards and force them to cut art, music, career and technical education, AP courses, extracurricular activities, and lay off teachers, resulting in larger class sizes,” Trumble said.

Housing is in short supply across the state, and prices, including rents, make it difficult for many young families and seniors to stay in New Hampshire.

Creighton thinks the state can take a bigger role in regulatory reform but is not a proponent of large state subsidies. He said he has spoken to builders who are interested in building homes, but the permitting process takes several months. “‘That is our profit,’ they tell me,” Creighton said.

“What I think we need to do is cut red tape, streamline permitting and allow these companies to come and build houses.”

Creighton said he supports opening up regulations to allow more manufactured and modular housing, which he said is built in factories at about half the cost of a site-built home.

Trumble agrees that lowering housing costs is key to getting young people to stay in the state. He would like funding restored to the Housing Champion program and the state’s Affordable Housing Fund.

“Regulatory reform has to be part of the solution and some of it makes sense, like (allowing) accessory dwelling units,” Trumble said, adding that manufactured housing could help but such reforms can’t be “forced” on every town.

“Regulatory reform only gets you so far. It won’t bring down the cost of housing alone,” Trumble said. “If the state doesn’t become a responsible partner in housing, we are not going to have enough supply. If we want to increase housing, the state needs to step up.”

On the question of allowing AI data centers, both candidates support Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s call for a moratorium on building data centers, which would take effect no earlier than July 2027.

“The technology is growing faster than our ability to understand it,” Trumble said. “We need to slow down and understand who is benefiting from AI. It is the billion-dollar class with people end up paying for it. That is wrong. We need to look carefully. It is a life-altering technology.”

Creighton said there are “upsides” to data centers, including high-tech jobs and tax revenue, but said other considerations need to come first.

“It is going to drive our future but there are concerns about power, water and electricity,” Creighton said. “I support the governor’s cautious approach to make sure we do it right.”

Creighton summed up his campaign this way.

“I am thrilled to be running to continue service to the state,” he said. “I’m focused on maintaining the New Hampshire advantage of no income or sales tax, providing a better environment for our kids so they can maximize their potential in school and taking care of our veterans. I want to maintain the quality of the state that is continuing to grow when those around us are not.”

If elected, Trumble said he wants the state to pitch in on child care, housing, health care, a higher minimum wage and strong public schools.

“If we do all those things we’ll have a state young people will choose. It is time to have a state that says we are going to work for the working people first.”

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com