Six candidates are vying for three House seats in Strafford County District 4, representing Barrington and Strafford.

In a reconfigured district, incumbent Democratic Rep. Cassandra Levesque of Barrington, is joined on the ballot by fellow Democrats Heath Howard (Strafford) and Matthew D. Towne (Barrington). Republicans have two incumbents Reps. Len Turcotte (Barrington) and Kurt Wuelper (Strafford), along with Davis Miller (Barrington).

The following candidates responded to a survey from Fosters.com. Their answers are below.

Matthew D. Towne

Hometown: Barrington

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the power to regulate abortion with the states. What should state lawmakers do regarding abortion laws?

State lawmakers should codify a woman’s right to reproductive freedom.

The state's residents and businesses face many economic challenges, including high prices for electricity and fuel, a labor shortage, a lack of affordable housing and rising prices due to inflation. How would you address these challenges?

I would sponsor or vote for alternative energy at every opportunity. I would vote to remove the solar cap as our neighboring states have done. I would push for our government to make our own government energy efficient. I would return the RGGI funding (regional greenhouse gas initiative) to its original purpose of making low income housing more energy efficient. I would advocate for workforce housing and mixed senior housing with greater density allowing shops and food stores to prosper and avoiding food deserts common to low income neighborhoods.

What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?

I am driven by a lifelong history of service. From being a Registered Nurse ICU Manager, to service in the Peace Corps to service as an industrial safety consultant I have stepped in to make things better. I have been a legislator in the past and would like to continue to be part of the solution. I seek to protect our democracy by increasing voting percentage and thwarting the free state debacle. I am quite used to taking responsibility for my actions and knowledge base.

Len Turcotte

Hometown: Barrington

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the power to regulate abortion with the states. What should state lawmakers do regarding abortion laws?

I frequently receive emails from constituents claiming abortion has now been made illegal in the State of NH. Each time, before responding to their statement, I ask three questions regarding abortion: 1) what is NH’s current law; 2) what was NH’s law prior to this past House Session; and 3) how did the US Supreme Court decision Dobbs VS. Jackson Women’s Health affect NH’s current law? To date, not a single constituent has replied. The quick answers are 1) NH’s current law allows abortion for ANY reason all the way up to 6 months and for rare circumstances after 24 weeks (including protecting the physical health and life of the mother). 2) NH’s previous law was abortion without exception up to the day of birth; and 3) the recent overturning of Roe vs. Wade has absolutely zero effect on NH’s current law. The decision simply places rulemaking back into the State’s hands where it belongs. I also ask the constituents a fourth question: how many of the State’s Democrat legislators voted to allow abortion without restriction up to the moment of birth? Answer: every single one of them. That is an extreme a position held by only 20% of respondents in poll after poll. In Europe, restrictions on abortions occur much earlier in pregnancy. More than 20 European countries limit abortions to 12 weeks, and many have outright bans. I would not support abortion up until birth without restriction as the communist countries of China, North Korea and Vietnam allow.

The state's residents and businesses face many economic challenges, including high prices for electricity and fuel, a labor shortage, a lack of affordable housing and rising prices due to inflation. How would you address these challenges?

Unfortunately, most of the issues raised in the question above are out of reach of our state's control. And most are problems that are a direct result of policies initiated by our current President's administration. Inflation is a direct result of policies that print money we do not have, spending it on projects and issue that are not needed, followed by too much cash chasing too few goods. Supply and demand. Affordable housing is the same. Builders will construct homes that the market desires, not what politicians and bureaucrats believe are needed. Once the market for higher priced homes recedes, the builders will focus on what sells at that time, which inevitably will be lower priced housing. Supply and Demand. Electricity and fuel? Same, supply and demand. Labor shortages? Supply and demand again, mixed with the fact that bureaucracies have been sending "free money" out to citizens for over two years. Most of the items in question will, over time, be solved by economic principles, not politicians and bureaucrats. Free markets always work unless negatively biased by "central control".

What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?

For a thorough understanding of my policy positions, please visit my website and review the "blogs" page at www.lenturcotte.org. You can also find further information on my "Len Turcotte for State Rep" Facebook page.

Heath Howard

Hometown: Strafford

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the power to regulate abortion with the states. What should state lawmakers do regarding abortion laws?

Family planning is an important step in deciding when to have a child, and the debate we are having today fails to acknowledge how we educate and provide contraception to people. It has been proven time and time again that communities that rely on abstinence-only sexual education have significantly more unexpected pregnancies than those that have in-depth resources. As a New Hampshire State Representative, I would seek to protect the human right of bodily autonomy by codifying abortion access on the state level.

The state's residents and businesses face many economic challenges, including high prices for electricity and fuel, a labor shortage, a lack of affordable housing and rising prices due to inflation. How would you address these challenges?

New Hampshire’s high electricity rates are a result of our Governor’s appointees to the PUC who sided with the oil and gas industry rather than the people of our state; combined with a failure to invest in green energy projects, we have seen the 2nd highest electricity rates in the US. We need to provide more energy options for people and hold the PUC accountable by preventing further price hikes. The labor shortage is the result of our state’s lack of investment in our education system from kindergarten all the way through university. Not only are our kids going through underfunded school systems, but they cannot afford the universities our tax dollars pay for. Young people are leaving the state at an unprecedented rate with 60% of our high school graduates going on to higher education in other states. In fact, we are the only state that breaks 50% in regard to the number of students that leave the state to attend college. To invest in our children’s futures is to invest in the future of our state; we must end the school voucher program, give our schools the funding they need, and support students to educate themselves further here in New Hampshire because if we don’t reverse this trend we will have a severe labor shortage. With one of the oldest workforces in the country, we need to think about how to maintain our current industries while also taking care of our retirees. Our economy for our future needs to be built around our youth today.

What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?

In 2016 I suffered an L4 burst fracture and spent a significant amount of time dealing with our healthcare system. We need to make sure insurance companies are following through on their commitment to patients and that individuals can afford the prescriptions they need. My mom was with me when I was in the hospital and she used her vacation and sick days to do so. Having a family member with you during situations like mine is invaluable which is why I support paid family leave. Internet prices and speeds in New Hampshire are being set by monopolies. With only one internet service provider to choose from the lack of competition has led to stagnation. Having no laws regulating ISPs in the utility section of our state constitution has allowed these companies to exploit residents across New Hampshire. It is not a free market because they have no incentive to innovate or compete. Chattanooga, TN created a public option for its internet 12 years ago and the public option is not only cheaper but faster than all of its private competitors. The city has seen nearly $3 billion in economic revenue from the improvements to its internet alongside the creation of thousands of jobs. New Hampshire needs to attract new businesses and making it easier to start online companies in our state would benefit our economy. With $122 million from our federal delegation to invest in rural broadband, we would not see an increase in taxes to implement a public option across our state.

Cassandra Levesque

Hometown: Barrington

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the power to regulate abortion with the states. What should state lawmakers do regarding abortion laws?:

Abortion is just one aspect of reproductive rights and I believe that individuals should be making their own reproductive decisions. No one has the right to make that decision for another individual, especially the government. This is a profoundly personal decision that should be made between the individual and their healthcare provider. I am also very concerned about the loss of doctor/patient confidentiality.

We also need to be concerned when it comes to enforcing laws/bans on reproductive rights because this could easily open the door to massive government overreach. Do we really want to give the government unlimited power in our health-care decisions?

The state's residents and businesses face many economic challenges, including high prices for electricity and fuel, a labor shortage, a lack of affordable housing and rising prices due to inflation. How would you address these challenges?:

What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?:

As a lifelong resident of Barrington, I value our community. We must continue to support our police, fire, and EMS personnel. We do that by having safe, healthy working conditions, proper staffing, and adequate funding.

I am proud of New Hampshire's diversity and will continue to make sure that everyone is free from discrimination in all areas of our society including employment, housing, education, healthcare, and our justice system.

As the daughter of a veteran, honesty, integrity, and patriotism has been ingrained in me. I honor my ancestors who have served New Hampshire throughout its history by committing to providing veterans with physical and mental health care, education, and disability support throughout their lifetimes. We must create employment opportunities for Veterans and address the crises of homelessness, substance use disorder, and suicide.

As your representative, I will bring the voice of my generation and our community to the State House and will continue to work for New Hampshire's best future.

Editor's note: Seacoast Media Group made a good-faith effort to distribute our candidate questionnaire to all candidates. We will add any missing candidate questionnaires when they are received. If any candidates have questions or need information on how to be included, please email news@seacoastonline.com or news@fosters.com with "candidate questionnaire" in the subject line.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: NH election 2022: 3 vie for 6 House seats in Strafford District 4