A New Hampshire teenager has just won a seat in the state legislature as one of the youngest elected officials in not only New Hampshire, but the USA.
Tony LaBranche, 18, will be sworn in as state representative for Amherst. The teenage Democrat said he got the idea while campaigning for Souhegan Cooperative School Board. He lost that race but used the opportunity for networking.
He said he became civically minded when tackling cancer as a child.
“It started at age 10,” LaBranche said. “I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, I was also the youngest colon cancer survivor ever at the time and seeing the cost of health care in the United States hurt me.”
So, he and his campaign workers — many are friends from high school — put in the work to win a seat in the state House.
“Being 16 years old, helping with a state representative campaign and then proceeding to win is pretty shocking,” said Sarah Tupper, a student and member of the campaign staff.
With a plan to attend a local community college to save money for the next two years, the legislative schedule will not interfere with LaBranche’s education.
“I went from beating cancer to running for state rep and here I am,” LaBranche said. “I look forward to working across the aisle to get stuff done.”❐
