Former Democrat Kiper Forming Third Party, Will Stay In 2026 Governor's Race

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

For months, Newmarket small business owner and former town councilor Jon Kiper has been campaigning in the New Hampshire Democratic gubernatorial primary, telling voters they need a new governor.

On Monday, Kiper announced New Hampshire needs a new political party.

“My relationship with the Democratic establishment was clearly frayed, but seeing Chris Pappas at an AIPAC event doubling down on sending billions more dollars to the Middle East to support another endless war was more than I could bear,” Kiper said in a statement Monday.

“If the Democrats would like to be the party of war, the party of Purdue Pharma lobbyists, that’s their choice, but I want no part of that,” Kiper added. “And neither should the people of New Hampshire — I will be giving voters a third choice in November, the Community First Party.”

Kiper has been touting his book on Community First Economics for weeks.

“Community First Economics exposes the lie at the heart of our economy and shows how to rebuild it from the ground up. It’s a working-class blueprint for fairness, local empowerment, and a government that finally serves the people who make this country run,” according to the website.

It’s not Kiper’s first book. In 2013, he also published “Poetry for Leotards,” filled with erotic poems, explicit sexual language, and profanity. Late last year, he described the book to WMUR-TV as “not intended for children or people who are easily offended,” and said people should “read and laugh.”

Kiper ran for governor as a Democrat, garnering just 9 percent of the vote against the eventual 2024 nominee, Joyce Craig, and the all-but-certain 2026 nominee, Cinde Warmington.

His financial disclosures show he has raised very little money, and polls show he has low name ID among voters — particularly Democratic voters. Still, the Kiper campaign said in a statement he remains undaunted and determined to give voters another voice in November.

“We can’t take any chance that New Hampshire voters enter the polls to see only Kelly Ayotte and Cinde Warmington’s names on the ballot in November. There has to be another option.”

Republicans see Kiper’s decision to abandon the primary and run as a third-party candidate as another setback for Warmington.

“He may not get many votes,” one GOP strategist told NHJournal on background Monday night, “but every one of those votes will come from Cinde Warmington.”

That could be important if Trump’s drag on the GOP ticket makes Ayotte vulnerable. Just a few percentage points could make a difference.

Asked about the impact of Kiper’s candidacy on Democrats, a campaign spokesperson told NHJournal that Kiper is reaching out to voters in both parties who the two-party system has abandoned.

“The real winner of 2024 was the couch: More than 88 million voters chose to stay home instead of going out to the polls to support either major candidate.”

Kiper began the 2024 cycle as an independent candidate for governor before announcing he would once again run as a Democrat. Now he’s complaining that the Democratic Party establishment is out of touch with the base and blocking him out on behalf of Warmington.

“The Democrats are sabotaging the coalition because their loyalty is with the donors,” Kiper posted last week.

Whatever Kiper’s views, he will need money to get those views to voters. Will Kiper, who has raised less than $40,000 for his campaign this cycle, according to public disclosures, raise enough money to make an impact?

According to Kiper’s spokesperson, grassroots efforts don’t need a great deal of cash, and if Kiper can post significant numbers in November, he can change Granite State politics whether he wins or loses.

“We don’t have the same funding as the Democratic or Republican parties. That’s because we won’t take money from super PACs or shady special-interest groups.”

Democrats who’ve spoken to NHJournal about Kiper’s new party or his appearance on the November ballot are unconcerned.

“No matter what Kiper does, dislodging a first-term New Hampshire governor is already next to impossible. So expect little to no impact.”

However, polls show the Democratic Party is unpopular, particularly among its own members. CNN pollster Harry Enten recently noted that “the majority of Democrats are independents who lean Democrats. And 55 percent say no, congressional Democrats do not have the right priorities.

“It says that even if Democrats don’t like Donald Trump, they don’t like their own party either when it comes to Congress.”

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.