House candidate suspends bid over media coverage of 1989 murder conviction

Mark Edgington on Monday suspended his bid for a New Hampshire House seat representing Litchfield and Hudson. (Courtesy)

The House candidate who told the Bulletin last week that he hoped voters would look past his 1989 second-degree murder conviction has suspended his campaign. Republican Mark Edgington told the Bulletin Monday that another outlet’s reporting on his criminal record had caused him and his family distress.

“When I embarked on this, I expected fair, respectful treatment by the press and my party, and to serve my constituents,” wrote Edgington, who was seeking a floterial seat representing Hudson and Litchfield, in a message. He said reporting by the NH Journal had been unfair, inaccurate, and “salacious” but declined to give specifics.

“(The reporting) is causing me mental stress and affecting my family relations,” Edgington wrote. “I don’t need this.”

NH Journal’s Managing Editor Michael Graham declined to comment.

It was one of two shake-ups in state Republican circles Monday.

Rep. Len Turcotte, a Barrington Republican, announced that if reelected he will run for House speaker, a position Republican Sherman Packard of Londonderry has held since 2021.

In emails to House and Senate Republicans Monday, Turcotte said, “I understand the importance of having leadership that has the courage of its convictions …”

On his candidacy website, Turcotte criticized the decision-making, committee appointments, and communication of the current Republican House leadership team led by Packard.

“I also believe that conflicts of interest exist in some leadership positions, which has led to a focus on fund-raising and pushing legislation for the benefit of donors at the expense of the legislation that our caucus desires,” Turcotte wrote on his new website . “We need to adjust our focus back to doing what is best for all our citizens, not for the benefit of a select few.”

Turcotte was not specific and could not be reached for comment.

Packard, who has served in the Legislature for 34 years, said in an email that he will seek another term as speaker.

“When re-elected, I hope to work alongside both new and returning colleagues in our shared commitment to bettering this state and ensuring it remains the freest, safest, and best place to live, work and raise a family,” he wrote.

Packard also shared a letter he sent to House Republicans.

“I have long maintained an open-door policy, and I’m always willing to listen to your questions and concerns or offer my advice as an experienced legislator and proven leader,” it said.

Edgington moved from Walpole into a Hudson rental about two months ago to run for one of the two floterial seats, he told the Bulletin.

He had the backing of House Majority Leader Rep. Jason Osborne, an Auburn Republican, but not the New Hampshire Republican Party. It issued a statement Friday e ndorsing Edgington’s opponents, Rep. Ralph Boehm, a Litchfield Republican, and Kimberly Rice, of Hudson, a former Republican House member.

“I am disappointed to see members of our party pander to the liberal media and feign outrage without giving the candidate the dignity of so much as a phone call,” Osborne said in a text message to the Bulletin Monday. “Mark made a horrible mistake 37 years ago and has spent his life doing good in this world, good which party leaders willfully ignore. Still I look forward to putting this in the rearview and continuing to work to expand our Republican majority in the House.”

Osborne also defended Packard’s tenure and said he will see another term as speaker.

“This isn’t just any job you can walk into. Speaker Packard has a proven track record of achieving historic legislative victories and has run the House through the most difficult of times and with the slimmest majority in history,” Osborne wrote. “Republicans should be thrilled when imagining what can be achieved with a real, functioning majority and a seasoned Speaker at the helm.”

Edgington, 53, relocated from Florida to New Hampshire in 2006, via the Free State Project.

He was 18 when he pleaded “no contest” in Florida to a second-degree murder charge in connection with the beating and strangulation death of a motel charge.

Edgington and his co-defendant avoided more serious first-degree murder convictions by pleading no contest, accepting their prison terms without admitting guilt. Edgington maintains his innocence and told the Bulletin he was hiding in the motel bathroom during the murder. He served about eight years of his 25-year sentence.

Edgington’s name will most likely remain on the ballot even though they are not yet printed because it is too late for him to withdraw from the race. Edgington’s name could be removed if he moves from the district, dies, or becomes incapacitated, according to state law.

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