Ex-Congressional Candidate Alice Wade Says Dem Colleague Told Her She “Stood No Chance” Because She’s Trans

New Hampshire Democratic state representative Alice Wade has spent her brief time in office pushing forward progressive policy points, often fighting against anti-transgender legislation such as bathroom restrictions and gender-affirming care bans since being elected in 2024. As the 25-year-old’s nascent political career gained momentum in the spring of 2025, Wade tells Them that she considered an exploratory campaign for Congress in the state’s 1st Congressional District (CD-1), seeking the backing of other progressives.That all came to a halt, she says, after Democratic Socialist U.S. House candidate and fellow progressive state representative Heath Howard pressured her to end her campaign, allegedly saying that because Wade is a trans woman, she would stand no chance of being elected. Instead, Wade said Howard told her to support his bid for CD-1. “Last year, a fellow state representative and someone I considered a close friend called me repeatedly, telling me not to run for Congress,” she posted to Facebook on August 3. “He told me our friendship would be over if I stayed in the race. He questioned my integrity. He tried persuading me with promises of future political support if I stepped aside. And, most painfully, he told me that because I’m an openly transgender woman, I stood no chance of winning higher office in New Hampshire.” In the fallout of the public statement, multiple other New Hampshire progressives such as state rep. Alissandra Murray, organizer Melody Knapp, and Brandon James Lemay — the latter of whom ran for state representative in Hillsborough, New Hampshire in 2022 — have all come forward their own criticisms of Howard, describing a pattern of pressuring other progressive candidates, particularly women, to not run against him. “I have personally witnessed attacks on progressive organizations, colleagues, and political opponents, including through burner accounts and campaign proxies used to spread attacks and misinformatio