Keene Mayor George Hansel to announce run for US Congress

May 31—Keene Mayor George Hansel confirmed today that he is running for the U.S. House of Representatives.

The mayor is scheduled to launch his campaign for N.H. Congressional District 2 — a seat currently held by longtime Democrat Rep. Annie Kuster — at Modestman Brewing in Keene at 5:30 p.m. today, he said in a news release.

"New Hampshire families are hurting from Joe Biden's inflation — from the grocery store to the gas pump and everywhere in between," Hansel said in the release. "They are fed up with Congresswoman Kuster who has turned a blind eye and deaf ear to her constituents, voting with the Biden administration 100% of the time. I'm running to hold this administration accountable for inflation and give the Second Congressional district the attention and representation it deserves."

At Modestman Brewing, N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu will endorse Hansel, according to Jerry Sickels, vice chairman of the Keene City GOP Committee.

Raised in Derry, Hansel went to high school in Plymouth before settling in Keene. He is a co-owner and vice president of Filtrine Manufacturing in Keene and is serving his second term as mayor.

Hansel's announcement comes just days after a Twitter account purporting to belong to him announced he would be running for the District 2 seat.

The Twitter account with a profile picture of the mayor and the handle @Hansel4Congress appeared on the social media platform over the weekend. Based on the account, The Sentinel posted an article online that stated the 36-year-old Republican had announced his candidacy for District 2.

After the article was posted on The Sentinel's website, Hansel told a reporter that the account was fake. The Sentinel then removed the article and ran a correction. As of this morning the Twitter account appeared to have been deleted or suspended.

This article has been changed to correct Jerry Sickels' title.

Ryan Spencer can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1412, or rspencer@keenesentinel