Carleigh Beriont’s campaign slogan reads, “More of the same won’t fix this.” Her approach to politics and advocacy is different, and she continues to travel across the state of New Hampshire to listen and engage with communities to strengthen her connections and understand what is important to voters.
Since the beginning of her campaign, Beriont has driven 70,000 miles across New Hampshire, connecting with residents from every corner of the district. Doing so has shown her that despite political party divides, there is so much that we all agree upon.
On April 12 from 12-2 pm, Beriont will be at UNH’s Freedom Cafe for “Coffee with Carleigh,” listening to and engaging with students and the greater community. She welcomes all conversations, questions, and comments about her campaign and political issues. “I really just want to hear what’s on people’s minds right now and have an opportunity for us to talk about what we can do at the federal level to make life better for people in college,” said Beriont.
Beriont’s political interest began as she was pursuing her graduate degree at Harvard, where she successfully led a union of her fellow graduate student workers to bargain for better conditions. She is currently an adjunct lecturer and educator at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, teaching courses on politics, public policy, and religious history, while also serving on the Select Board as Vice Chair for the town of Hampton, and has written many compelling political op-ed pieces in the Union Leader.
Beriont’s campaign approach has been centered around listening to what the people of New Hampshire need right now at the state and federal levels, and she does this with a refreshing, positive spin. When volunteering for a political campaign, tasks usually include door-to-door advocating or phone banks, but Beriont’s favorite question to ask volunteers is, “How do you want to get more involved?” This is how campaign events such as spaghetti dinners and dance parties formed.
In the past three weeks, Beriont and her campaign team have put on eighteen different events in eighteen different communities. “You just realize how much energy there is right now. People want to find ways to feel like they're making a difference, or put some of their worry and anxiety about what's happening in this moment to work,” said Beriont.
Beriont is also trying to incorporate smaller actions along the way into her campaign. Many politicians talk about all the things they are going to do when they are elected, but Beriont wants to emphasize all the things that can and will be done along the way as well. For example, she and many of her peers attended Rockingham County Commission Meetings for weeks as they discussed the possibility of ICE detainees being held in the county jail. Beriont and her peers listened intently and also got up to publicly speak out about the issue.
This is a prime example of Beriont’s pro-active approach, immersing herself in every community and truly wanting to understand the political issues that are heavy on Granite Staters’ minds right now. She does this through genuine interactions, as she is the only candidate for federal office in the United States who is not on social media. “It means I get to listen to people, and not just all the noise that you see on social media, which is driven to be divisive, and doesn't provide space for conversation or nuanced exchange,” said Beriont.
HB 1793, or the ‘campus carry’ bill, has recently become a prominent topic of conversation across UNH’s campus, causing anxieties and worries for many students and staff. In response, Beriont said, “I don't support it as a mom, as a teacher. I don't think that people here support it, and I think it's reprehensible that this is how our elected officials are using their time instead of making life better for literally anybody.”
If elected to Congress in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, Beriont would begin by focusing on pushing forward legislation to raise the minimum wage in the state, as well as bipartisan housing legislation, restoring climate cuts made by the Trump administration, and abolishing ICE, making room for humane and comprehensive immigration reform.
“Right now things feel so bleak and overwhelming for so many people, and I think a lot of people feel scattered and hopeless and cynical, and I know that’s true of my students,” said Beriont. “I just believe that there’s a real opportunity here for us to bring some of the monumental changes that we need to see, and so I want to be part of that.”
