A longtime legislator and a state representative wrapping up his freshman term will compete for New Hampshire’s 12th Senate district come Election Day.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Kevin Avard and his challenger, Democratic Rep. Ben Ming, are competing in a district that includes Rindge, Greenville, New Ipswich and Mason.

Kevin Avard (R)

Avard, who lives in Nashua, is seeking his fifth term in the Senate.

On his website, Avard stated  he’s focused on supporting veterans, fixing road infrastructure, lowering health care costs and funding mental health care. He did not respond to interview requests from the Ledger-Transcript.

These are the basics, he states on his website, and he argues that the Legislature needs to “cut through the gridlock” to get things done.

“It’s time for government to focus on doing a few things and doing them well,” Avard stated. “Concord moves from crisis to crisis, fix to fix. I want to work together, and help us steer a new course.”

Avard is a small-business owner and pledges to reduce taxes and lessen the regulatory burden on small businesses.

Avard sponsored HB 396 this year, which was approved by the Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu. The bill would’ve permitted the classification of people by biological sex in some situations, including in bathrooms, locker rooms, school sports and detention facilities. He also voted for HB 1205, which bans transgender girls from competing on girls’ school sports teams.

Avard stated he advocates for “responsible spending,” according to his website. He stated he supports privacy rights for parents and children, as well as local control. He also stated he advocates for addiction treatment and prevention, with one of his priorities being to reign in New Hampshire’s drug crisis.

“There is no one size fits all solution to this crisis -- but Senator Avard has been committed to tackling the problem from all angles,” his website states.

Ben Ming (D)

Ming, a state representative and lawyer from Hollis, is challenging Avard with a campaign focused on making New Hampshire a great place for families. He said he has enjoyed raising his four children in the Granite State and wants to keep it that way.

“We kind of want to keep it the way it is, in terms of being a great community to raise kids, like a slower pace of life,” Ming said.

For him, Ming said, that means lowering child care costs and property taxes.

“Right off the bat, that’s becoming a second mortgage for a lot of people,” Ming said.

Ming said he’d lower property taxes by supporting more state financial support for public education. Local property taxes currently make up about 70% of school funding.

During his freshman term in the House, Ming was the prime sponsor on a bill protecting interracial marriage in New Hampshire – the Marital Freedom Act. The governor signed it into law last year.

Like most Democrats, he’s also running on a platform to protect reproductive rights in New Hampshire. Ming argues that if Republicans keep control of the Legislature, that effort will move backward.

“It just became so clear in this past term that abortion rights, reproductive rights, are kind of only going in one direction or the other,” Ming said.

Charlotte Matherly is the State House reporter for the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript and Concord Monitor in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.