Speaker Condemns Weare GOP State Rep. Targeting Jewish Colleague From Manchester; No Sanction Issued

By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH

Known for his racist commentary, Travis Corcoran is at it again, this time suggesting on Twitter that Jewish Rep. Jessica Grill, D-Manchester, should be killed in a “final solution.”

Corcoran, the Republican Representative for Weare, went after Grill after she promoted an upcoming Karaoke Caucus Meeting on Twitter.

“We need a final solution for theater kids in politics,” Corcoran wrote on Tuesday.

Last week on social media, he attacked Rep. Luz Bay, D-Dover, asking Trump Administration official Stephen Miller to have her deported. Bay is an American citizen who was born in the Philippines.

According to his House biography, Corcoran "has published several novels (winning the Prometheus Award for best libertarian science fiction twice), and non-fiction books. When not writing software or books, he works on his farm in Weare, where he has lived with his wife for eleven years."

Corcoran’s latest adventure in hate speech was quickly condemned by House Minority Leader Rep. Alexis Simpson, D-Exeter, on Tuesday night.

“Posting antisemitic language and references to the Holocaust is reprehensible,” Simpson said in a statement. “Rep. Corcoran’s conduct is unacceptable for anyone, and even more so for a member of the legislature. I condemn this rhetoric. I expect the Speaker to stand against it and take action to address the hate speech coming from his caucus. For far too long, Rep. Corcoran has used antisemitic and racist rhetoric without consequence. The Speaker has allowed this behavior to continue, and addressing Rep. Corcoran’s pattern of hateful comments is long overdue.”

By Wednesday afternoon, House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, issued a statement condemning Corcoran, but Packard did not signal that he would take any steps to sanction him.

“The recent rhetoric shared by Rep. Corcoran is deeply inappropriate and has no place in the New Hampshire House. Any language that invokes violence, hate, or intolerance is unacceptable by any member. Our institution is built on respect and the responsibility to serve all Granite Staters with dignity and professionalism. Conduct that undermines that mission does not reflect our values. Members of the House are expected to uphold the standards of the body and honor the trust placed in them by their constituents,” Packard’s statement read.

Corcoran has a long history of making racist and offensive comments. Last year, he claimed violent crime is caused by African Americans. In 2023, asked people to start using the “N-word,” as a form of protest.

“We must all say or type the word’ n*gger’ in a public place, as a declaration that the progs can’t control our thoughts or our behaviors — EVEN IF WE DISLIKE THE WORD,” Corcoran wrote.

In 2021, Corcoran wrote, “I had some idiot respond to me, ‘What sort of person needs to spend $100K on a watch?’ Pissed me off to no end. I know, you know, and he knows that no one feels a NEED. They WANT to. And more power to them. People can spend on whatever they want. Using ‘need’ is a f*ggot move.”

In 2014, Corcoran tweeted, “You can say ‘the gay lifestyle is destructive’ w/o saying ‘disgusting f*ggots get diseases.’”

And in 2011, he defended the attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Rep. Gabby Giffords.

“I think that it is morally legitimate to kill pro-regulation senators and pro-regulation judges, if it can be done without harming innocents,” he wrote.

While that kind of behavior might get him disinvited by serious political organizations, the Republican incumbent is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire’s 2026 convention.

The LPNH has its own track record of making racist and homophobic Tweets. In 2024, the organization called Libertarian Presidential Candidate Chase Oliver a “faggot.” And in September the LPNH called historically Black colleges and universities “chimp factories.”

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.