Matthew McLaughlin

Matthew McLaughlin is the Democratic candidate for New Hampshire State Senate District 9 in the November 3, 2026 general election, running against Republican incumbent Denise Ricciardi after advancing from the September 8, 2026 Democratic primary.[1][2] He is a retired Naval Academy graduate who flew for the U.S. Navy and later worked as a commercial airline pilot.[1][3]

McLaughlin was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, and earned a bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1981.[1] He served in the U.S. Navy from 1981 to 1989, and his career experience includes work as a Navy pilot and a commercial pilot.[1] In a 2022 Ballotpedia survey, he said he grew up in Bedford as the youngest of 10 children, flew the A-7 Corsair as a tactical jet pilot with three deployments aboard the USS Nimitz, and worked as a commercial airline pilot for 33 years.[3]

McLaughlin ran for the same seat in 2024 and lost to Ricciardi in the general election, 51.5 percent to 48.4 percent.[1] In the 2022 survey he listed protecting a woman's right to choose, ending Education Freedom Accounts and returning public money to public schools, and increasing renewable energy as his three key messages.[3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.