Trump ally jumps into crowded GOP primary in race to flip swing state House seat

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican activist who was a top supporter last year of President Donald Trump’s bid to win back the White House is hoping to break the GOP’s losing streak in a key congressional swing seat.

Elizabeth Girard, who served as co-chair of Trump’s 2024 campaign in New Hampshire, on Monday formally launched her campaign for the swing state’s open 1st Congressional District, which Republicans haven’t captured in over a decade.

“I’ll work with President Trump and my colleagues to deliver tangible results and ensure our state’s future stays bright for generations to come,” Girard said in a statement and an accompanying video that was shared nationally first with Fox News Digital.

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The district, which stretches from Manchester east to Portsmouth and north to the White Mountains, is one of the GOP’s top targets as Republicans aim to not only protect but expand their razor-thin House majority in next year’s midterm elections.

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The 1st District was once one of the leading congressional swing seats in the country, but Democrats have won five straight elections in the district, including the last four by Rep. Chris Pappas. But with the seat opening up as Pappas runs for the Senate in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Republicans see an opportunity to flip the House seat.

In her announcement, Girard pledged to bring “results-drive, commonsense leadership to Washington — and to amplify New Hampshire’s voice.”

She said her priorities, if elected, would include lowering the cost of living and healthcare in New Hampshire, empowering small businesses and innovators to thrive, and “providing care for veterans and seniors who build and defended this nation.”

Girard joins a crowded Republican primary field that also includes auto dealer and real estate developer Anthony DiLorenzo, Hollie Noveletsky — a former New Hampshire GOP vice chair who came in second in the 2024 Republican congressional primary in the district — state Rep. Brian Cole, and Bedford Republican Committee Vice Chair Melissa Bailey.

Seven Democrats are running for their party’s nomination, including former Portsmouth city councilor Stefany Shaheen, who is the daughter of Sen. Shaheen, and Maura Sullivan, a New Hampshire Democratic Party vice chair, runner-up to Pappas in the 2018 congressional primary, and a U.S. Marine veteran who served in the Defense Department during former President Barack Obama’s administration.

Girard, a 2016 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, served as president of the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women (NHFRW). She also ran unsuccessfully for the state’s open Republican National Committeewoman seat.

Girard was still NHFRW chair when she endorsed Trump at a campaign rally in December 2023, which broke the organization’s longstanding rule of not taking sides in a GOP primary. She promptly resigned from her leadership role with the group to become a Trump co-chair in New Hampshire.