Sanders-Aligned 'Our Revolution' Backs Urrutia In NH 1st Congressional District Democrat Primary

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Democrat Christian Urrutia’s campaign rucksack may have gotten a little lighter thanks to a boost from the Bernie Sanders wing of his party.

Urrutia has been endorsement by Our Revolution in the NH-01 Democratic primary over the other progressive candidates in the field.

“Christian is running a people-powered campaign to put working families first — fighting for affordable housing, stronger labor rights, lower health care costs and an economy that works for everyone,” said Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese.

Our Revolution, an organization that grew out of socialist U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, has also endorsed U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), as well as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Urrutia, a human rights attorney and New Hampshire Army National Guard officer, welcomed the support.

“I am honored to earn the endorsement of Our Revolution. This endorsement makes the choice in this race clear,” Urrutia said. “This is the campaign that can stand up to Donald Trump and the billionaire class, take on corruption in Washington, and fight to deliver Medicare for All, universal child care, a living wage and real relief from the affordability crisis.”

“The billionaire class already has enough people fighting for it in Washington,” Urrutia added. “I am running to fight for everyone else.”

Urrutia is by far the top fundraiser among the progressive candidates in the primary, far outpacing Carleigh Beriont, Sarah Chadzynski, and state Rep. Heath Howard. However, his cash on hand is far lower than the two candidates currently leading in the polls, Stefany Shaheen and Maura Sullivan.

Sullivan reported raising more than $700,000 during the second quarter and having approximately $1.6 million cash on hand. Shaheen raised more than $400,000 and reported more than $1.2 million in available funds.

Urrutia has also taken the somewhat unusual tack among progressive candidates of highlighting his military service. For example, he made an 18-mile “ruck march” to Concord to file his candidacy documents, saying it was to highlight the fact that 18 veterans a day are committing suicide.

“The son of immigrants and a New Hampshire native, Christian has dedicated his career to service, from defending human rights to serving in the Army National Guard. He’ll fight to get big money out of politics, protect reproductive freedom and give communities — not wealthy donors — a real voice in our democracy,” Geevarghese said.

Our Revolution is also an outspoken opponent of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s involvement in Democratic primaries. It has accused AIPAC of using big-money spending to defeat progressive candidates and supports banning super PAC spending in Democratic contests.

That position could become significant in the NH-01 race. Urrutia has pledged not to accept support from AIPAC or affiliated groups and has called Israel’s military campaign in Gaza a “genocide.”

“No AIPAC money. No DMFI money. Not now. Not ever,” Urrutia said previously. “Stop the weapons. Stop sending taxpayer dollars to fund it.”

He’s also called out Shaheen and Sullivan for refusing to say whether they would have joined more than 100 U.S. House Democrats and voted to end all military aid to Israel.

“I would have voted for the Massie Amendment,” Urrutia said. “Members of Congress have one main duty – to vote – and candidates have a related duty – telling voters where they stand.”

U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who Urrutia is hoping to replace, voted “present.”

The endorsement adds Our Revolution to a collection of progressive groups supporting Urrutia, including the New Hampshire House Progressive Caucus, New Hampshire Youth Movement Action Fund, 350NH Action, and Latino Victory Fund.

Those endorsements have helped Urrutia consolidate organizational support on the Democratic left, but so far they have not translated into significant movement in the polls.

June’s Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll put Shaheen at 22 percent, followed by Sullivan at 15 percent and state Rep. Heath Howard at 9 percent. Urrutia received 3 percent, while 47 percent of respondents remained undecided.

No progressive Democrat running for governor or federal office has won a contested New Hampshire primary since Carol Shea Porter in 2006.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.