Becky Whitley

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Becky Whitley
Whitley in 2024
Member of the New Hampshire Senate
from the 15th district
In office
December 2, 2020 – December 4, 2024
Preceded byDan Feltes
Succeeded byTara Reardon
Personal details
Born (1980-03-18) March 18, 1980
PartyDemocratic
EducationGeorge Washington University (BBA)
Vermont Law School (JD)
WebsiteState Senate website
Campaign website

Rebecca Whitley (born March 18, 1980) is an American politician who served in the New Hampshire Senate from the 15th district from 2020 through 2024. A Democrat, she represented the state capital, Concord, as well as Hopkinton, Penacook, and Bow.[1]

Before serving as a senator, Whitley worked as an attorney for the New Hampshire Disability Rights Center, a consultant for the Environmental Defense Fund,[2][3] and the Policy Director for the Children's Behavioral Health Collaborative.[4][5][6][7] She resides in Hopkinton with her husband and son.[8]

New Hampshire Senate

Following Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes' retirement to run for governor, Whitley, who had never run for office before, and former congressman Paul Hodes sought the Democratic nomination for his seat. In the September 8th primary, Whitley won the nomination.[9][10] She went on to win the general election.[11]

During her 4 years in the New Hampshire Senate, Whitley was a member of the Senate Judiciary and Health and Human Services Committees and the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules.[12] She was also a member of the Bipartisan Housing Caucus and a founding member and Co-Chair of the NH MomsCaucus.[13] In the New Hampshire Senate, Whitley led in a bipartisan way to address NH's childcare crisis, help new moms get the healthcare and support they need, tackle food insecurity,[14][15][16][17] reform NH's mental health system,[18][19][20] protective reproductive freedom,[21][22][23][24][25] and make modest criminal justice reforms.[26][27][28][29][30] She secured key investments and critical policy change during the 2023 legislative session to mitigate and improve the early care and education crisis in NH and led the successful policy and advocacy campaign resulting in the passage of the "NH MOMnibus", a comprehensive legislative package to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, expand access to coverage and care, address maternal health inequities, and increase access to a broader array of services and providers for NH families.[31][32][33][34]

During her time in the Senate, Whitley was named 2021 Legislator of the Year Award by the NH Council on Developmental Disabilities; 2023 Advocate of the Year Award by the NH Food Access Coalition; 2023 Legislator of the Year Award by National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) NH; 2023 Legislator of the Year Award by New Futures; 2024 Legislator Advocate of the Year Award by the NH Food Access Coalition; and received a 2024 Recognition from the NH Breastfeeding Task Force for advocacy on behalf of NH mothers.[35]

Whitley contemplated a run for Congress after Congresswoman Annie Kuster retired in 2024,[36][37][38] but decided not to run, citing the outsized role of money and insider connections in politics.[39][40]

Electoral history

2020 New Hampshire State Senate election, District 15[41]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Becky Whitley 3,853 40.9
Democratic Paul Hodes 3,129 33.2
Democratic Candace Bouchard 2,422 25.7
Total votes 9,416 100
General election
Democratic Becky Whitley 19,462 63.4
Republican Linda Rae Banfill 11,243 36.6
Total votes 30,705 100
Democratic hold

References

  1. "Senate District 15". Gencourt.state.nh.gov. December 8, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  2. LuddenNPR, Jennifer (August 18, 2016). "Should We Be Having Kids in the Age of Climate Change? | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  3. "Moms in New Hampshire". Moms Clean Air Force. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  4. Whitley, Becky. "Bills aim to help children grow up safe and successful". Foster's Daily Democrat. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  5. WHITLEY, BECKY (May 8, 2019). "Your Turn, NH: Becky Whitley -- Invest in New Hampshire's children". UnionLeader.com. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  6. Schinella, Tony; Staff, Patch (August 14, 2020). "Becky Whitley, Concord State Senate Candidate". Concord, NH Patch. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  7. Whitley, Becky (June 11, 2020). "My Turn: Transformation: Why I'm running for New Hampshire Senate". Concord Monitor. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  8. "About Becky". Beckywhitley.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  9. "New Hampshire Primary Results". Wcvb.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  10. Rosenbluth, Teddy (September 8, 2020). "Whitley secures Democratic nomination for District 15 state Senate seat". Concord Monitor. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  11. "New Hampshire State Senate 2020 general election results". Wmur.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  12. "Senate District 15".
  13. Tracy, Paula (February 2, 2023). "New Coalition of Elected Moms and Allies Gather to Advance Policy in N.H." InDepthNH. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  14. Gokee, Amanda (April 1, 2022). "Senate votes to revive food assistance program at farmers markets for women and children". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  15. "Lawmakers revive farmers market assistance program". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  16. DeWitt, Ethan (February 20, 2024). "Advocates say bipartisan school meals bill could make a dent in child hunger". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  17. Pirani, Amanda (June 8, 2023). "Lawmakers balk at Medicaid direct certification despite push by anti-hunger advocates". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  18. Timmins, Annmarie (April 14, 2021). "Why are children who need mental health care still ending up in ERs?". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  19. "Bill aims to free up mental health beds, end ER waits by increasing housing". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  20. "Democrats say Sununu lacked 'necessary urgency' on mental health crisis". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  21. "Commentary: It's time for Gov. Sununu to act and protect abortion-care access in NH". Portsmouth Herald. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  22. "State Democrats call for special legislative session to codify Roe". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  23. "NH Senate Rejects Codifying Abortion Rights". NBC Boston. March 11, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  24. Whitley, Becky (December 3, 2021). "My Turn: The luxury of privilege". Concord Monitor. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  25. Whitley, Becky (July 1, 2020). "U.S. Supreme Court protecting access to abortion care has local importance". Concord Monitor. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  26. DeWitt, Ethan (April 14, 2021). "Progress uneven as lawmakers work toward policing reform". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  27. "Becky Whitley". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  28. Pirani, Amanda (June 23, 2023). "Is parole working in NH? Stakeholders to look deeper at the system". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  29. DeWitt, Ethan (September 11, 2023). "As NH prison population declines, parole violators make up bigger share". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  30. Rosenbluth, Teddy (April 6, 2022). "Bill to stop handcuffing pregnant incarcerated women passes through House committee". Concord Monitor. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  31. Towfighi, Michaela (April 4, 2024). "Whitley launches exploratory committee for Congress". Concord Monitor. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  32. Cuno-Booth, Paul (June 26, 2023). "NH is extending Medicaid coverage for new moms". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  33. Towfighi, Michaela (February 15, 2023). "Bill proposes support for childcare for both parents and providers". Concord Monitor. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  34. "Advocates celebrate budget's $60.5 million for child care – as a start". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  35. "Rebecca Whitley". LinkedIn.
  36. Sexton, Adam (April 3, 2024). "New Hampshire state Sen. Becky Whitley forms exploratory committee as she considers 2nd District run". WMUR. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  37. NH state Sen. Becky Whitley forms exploratory committee in 2nd District race. WMUR-TV. April 3, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2026 – via YouTube.
  38. Becky Whitley makes campaign official, takes progressive stand | CloseUp. WMUR-TV. April 14, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2026 – via YouTube.
  39. Rogers, Josh (June 5, 2024). "Democrat Becky Whitley ends bid in 2nd Congressional District race". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  40. NH-02 dynamics shift with Becky Whitley's exit | CloseUp. WMUR-TV. June 9, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2026 – via YouTube.
  41. "New Hampshire State Senate District 15". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 7, 2021.