Brandon Phinney

Brandon Phinney (born April 27, 1988) is an American politician and former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Strafford County's 24th district.

Brandon Phinney
Phinney at a press conference announcing his change in party affiliation
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from the 24th Strafford district
In office December 7, 2016 – December 5, 2018
Preceded by	Laura Jones
Succeeded by	Mona Perrault
Personal details
Born	(1988-04-27) April 27, 1988 (age 36) Haverhill, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Libertarian (2017–present)
Other political affiliations	Republican (2016–2017)
Residence(s)	Rochester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Alma mater	Great Bay Community College Southern New Hampshire University
Occupation	Soldier
Committees	State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs

Career

Phinney earned his associate degree from Great Bay Community College and his bachelor's degree from Southern New Hampshire University.^[1] In 2016, he was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives as a Republican, beating his Democratic opponent by just 116 votes. There, he became notable in atheist circles as the only openly atheist Republican legislator in the United States.^[2] On June 27, 2017, he announced in a press conference that he had changed his party affiliation to Libertarian.^[3]

Phinney was defeated for re-election in a three-way race, finishing in third place with 10% of the total vote. He was succeeded by Republican Mona Perreault. Following his defeat, he announced he would run for Rochester City Council in 2019.^[4]

He was elected to the State House again in 2022.^[5]

Electoral history

2016

New Hampshire House of Representatives, District Strafford 24 General Election, 2016^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brandon Phinney	2,323	51.3
	Democratic	Karen Stokes	2,207	48.7
Total votes			4,530	100

2018

New Hampshire House of Representatives, District Strafford 24 General Election, 2018^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mona Perreault	1,720	47.2
	Democratic	Jeremiah Minihan	1,548	42.5
	Libertarian	Brandon Phinney (incumbent)	377	10.3
Total votes			3,645	100

See also

• Max Abramson

References

1. "Brandon Phinney's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
2. Mehta, Hermant (June 27, 2017). "The Country's Only Openly Atheist Republican Legislator Just Left the Party". Retrieved June 30, 2017.
3. Doherty, Brian (June 29, 2017). "New Hampshire Now Has Third Sitting Libertarian Party Legislator". Reason. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
4. "Brandon Phinney for Rochester City Council". Facebook. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
5. "Our Campaigns - NH State House - Strafford 09 Race - Nov 08, 2022".
6. "New Hampshire 24th District State House Results: Brandon Phinney Wins". The New York Times. December 13, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
7. "NH Election Results". Retrieved November 16, 2018.