In interview, GOP nominee in 1st Congressional District offers views on a range of issues
By Gabriel Perry, The Laconia Daily Sun
Russell Prescott, the Republican candidate for Congress, edged out a crowded field of competitors during the primary to secure a spot in the Nov. 5 general election. He’ll try to flip the New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, a seat held by Democrat Chris Pappas of Manchester since 2019.
In a primary race that was too close to call well into the evening of Sept. 10, Prescott, a former state senator and executive councilor, narrowly defeated Hollie Noveletsky, a newcomer to Granite State politics and the owner of Novel Iron Works in Greenland. Joseph Kelly Levasseur, at-large alderman of Manchester, came in a close third-place.
Prescott, who is also an engineer and the owner and president of R.E. Prescott Company, hails from Kingston and had poignant advice to young voters who will go to the polls in November.
“Demand authenticity, figure out what is the person’s reputation locally, and if they’re able to show that locally they have performed in a high-caliber of integrity and honesty and wanting to do what’s right – that’s what we should be looking for in our leaders,” Prescott said in an interview. “Those that make promises and keep their promises – we need people that are like that in all parts of government because integrity and honesty are the most important attributes of success.
Throughout a discussion of policies young voters indicated were important to them, Prescott said he believes states should conceive of their own policies on abortion and cannabis legalization, that he supports Israel, that he does not support increased tariffs on imported goods and that the federal budget must be balanced to ensure economic stability for Americans.
“That is a state’s right. It’s not a federal issue any longer, and really it should be residing right here in the state of New Hampshire to decide on abortion laws,” Prescott said. “I do agree with the abortion law that we have today.”
And Prescott said he feels largely the same regarding the legalization of cannabis at the federal level.
“I would leave that up to the states — let’s not take rights away from our states,” he said. “Let’s not make it a top-down legislative initiative.”
Prescott said comprehensive reform to the legal immigration system is necessary and that businesses rely on immigrants but opined that federal laws, some of which have been standing for a century or more, are not reliably enforced. He said Pappas hasn’t been effective in reducing illegal immigration and that he would stand up to any administration that doesn’t enforce existing immigration laws.
“A comprehensive overhaul is necessary. We want to make sure that we are able to have more people come into our workforce. This is a problem that we have here in New Hampshire,” he said. “I’m a businessman, I have 50 employees, and good help is the backbone of any small business and that’s what we need when we’re talking about immigration reform.”
Prescott said inflation is the primary challenge facing the U.S. economy and that it’s caused by overspending. By balancing the federal budget, the way New Hampshire has been able to in the past, inflation can be reduced, he said.
“The problem with our economy is runaway inflation. The runaway inflation is caused by overspending. We’re spending money we do not have, and we’re borrowing money which floods the marketplace with extra dollars and, therefore, causes inflation,” he said. “We need to just balance our budget based upon general balancing the budgets that I’ve done in the state Senate. For 10 years straight, we had a balanced budget and always a budget surplus, and that was done by weighing our needs versus our wants. We always take care of the needs of our state, we need to concentrate on taking care of the needs of our country without overspending.”
On climate, an issue particularly interesting to young voters, Prescott said his record is excellent and that he would take the same approach to Congress.
“Every single time that I was in the state Senate, I voted for being able to monitor the effects of climate change and make sure that we’re prepared if we see a trend – sea-level rise or any other trends that would show that we need to be prepared if they occurred,” he said. “You trust the science and you also have to verify the science and then make sure you take proper steps to address it and that’s what I’ve always done as a state senator.”
And Prescott said the Oct. 7 attack on Israel is reminiscent of the U.S. experience on Sept. 11, 2001, and that the U.S. should continue to support Israel in their conflict with Palestine.
“In Israel and Palestine we have a very similar situation where [Israel was] attacked right out of the blue, just like we were Sept. 11th and we need to understand that this is a problem of direct evil being perpetrated upon the United States on 9/11. We also have to realize that that was a direct perpetrated evil on Israel, and they have every right to bring those who did that evil deed of invading their country and taking so many captives and so many were killed, to justice,” he said. “This is just an ongoing situation to get that accomplished and I stand with Israel.”
These articles are being shared by partners in theGranite State News Collaborativeand the Know Your Vote youth voter guide. The Know Your Vote youth voter guide project was designed, reported and produced by student and young professional journalists from The Clock,The Concord Monitor, The Equinox, Granite State News Collaborative, Keene State College, The Laconia Daily Sun, The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, Nashua Ink Link and The Presidency and the Press program at Franklin Pierce University. You can see the full guide at www.collaborativenh.org/know-your-vote.