McGough Goes Wild: State Senator Lashes Out At Leadership After Losing Committee Posts

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Stripped of his committee assignments and accused of harassing both his fellow state senators and Senate staffers, Sen. Tim McGough (R-Merrimack) is going on offense, claiming he’s being punished because Senate leadership can’t handle the truth.

Late Wednesday night, the first-term senator told NHJournal he was unaware he had been removed from the Commerce and the Executive Department and Administration committees.

“That’s news to me,” he said, despite the fact that his name had been removed from the committee websites hours earlier.

Later that same night, he reached out to NHJournal, claiming he discovered he had been sanctioned thanks to the reporter’s inquiry, and then claimed he was being “oppressed” by Senate leadership for “speaking the truth.”

In fact, McGough has been under scrutiny for months over his unprofessional and allegedly abusive treatment of colleagues and employees. He has been the subject of at least one investigation, and he has been ordered to stay off the third floor of the State House except when he is caucusing with his fellow Republicans, multiple sources told NHJournal.

On Thursday, Senate President Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) released a statement appearing to confirm those reports.

“I made the difficult decision to remove Sen. McGough from his Senate committees and commissions,” Carson said. “This was not a decision I made lightly. Nor is it one that I can discuss in any detail, as it is a personnel matter and disclosure of underlying details would constitute an invasion of privacy for several individuals. I ask that we all continue to focus on service to our constituents and not allow ourselves to be distracted by these kinds of issues.”

Soon after Carson released her statement, McGough lashed out, claiming he had been “wrongfully removed” from his committees and accusing her of being motivated by personal animus.

“The Senate president and I have shared a tenuous relationship ever since I was elected,” McGough said in a statement. “She didn’t want me to win because she knew I would challenge the status quo. She knew I would not sit silently by and be bullied by her tactics to control the caucus. And now here we are.”

McGough specifically referenced the bruising battle between Carson and Gov. Kelly Ayotte over funding for expanded Group II retirement benefits.

“It was a battle the Senate president lost to the governor. I’ve had a target on my back ever since and, regardless of the pushback, will continue to make progress with the governor on like initiatives,” McGough said.

Multiple State House sources reached out to NHJournal to refute McGough’s claims, pointing out that several GOP senators broke with Carson on the Group II retirement issue, including Sen. Tim Lang (R-Sanbornton) and Sen. Howard Pearl. Nobody has lost their committee assignments — except McGough.

“It’s bulls***,” one highly placed State House source told NHJournal.

Sen. Victoria Sullivan (R-Manchester) went public with her defense of Carson, posting on social media:

“Senate President Sharon Carson has been a strong leader, as proven by the incredible work the Senate has done and continues to do for the citizens of New Hampshire,” Sullivan said.

“From my perspective, her leadership has been focused on maintaining a professional, positive, supportive work environment for our dedicated Senate staff and our colleagues. I respect Sen. Carson’s decision to make a tough call in order to preserve the integrity of the NH Senate.”

WMUR reports that elected officials in both parties call their interactions with McGough “inappropriately intense and confrontational.”

But while McGough may not have any allies willing to speak out, he’s not willing to back down. He is accusing Carson of “wrongdoing” and requesting that she reinstate him on the Commerce and the Executive Department and Administration committees.

McGough represents a swing state Senate district that has bounced between GOP and Democratic control. Former Sen. Shannon Chandley, who has won and lost the seat twice in the past, has announced she’s running again.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party sees an opportunity.

“Clearly, the Republican Senate president thought there was enough evidence to protect the staff from interacting with Sen. McGough and strip him of committee assignments,” the NHDP said in a statement.

“Sen. McGough clearly poses a threat, and putting staff in harm’s way is absolutely unacceptable. Whether he resigns or not, there’s one thing everyone knows — Tim McGough is not going to be representing District 11 come November.”

Several elected Republicans echoed that same sentiment on background to NHJournal.

“If he runs again, they (Senate Republicans) aren’t going to spend a penny on his race,” one elected Republican told NHJournal Thursday.

Asked about the need for Republicans to put this behind them and try to hold the seat, the Republican said, “You know what you call 15 (GOP) senators? A majority.”

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.