NOT COVID?

New Hampshire House Speaker Dies a Week After Being Sworn In

His death comes after a number of House Republicans contracted COVID-19 at a 200-person meeting.

New Hampshire Republican Richard Hinch has died just a week after being sworn in as state House speaker. The news comes after an unspecified number of House Republicans contracted the coronavirus following a 200-person meeting at a ski resort on Nov. 20. Deputy House Speaker Sherm Packard said his superior had exhibited cold-like symptoms that he insisted were not COVID-19 related. Republican state Senate President Chuck Morse, who was sworn in at the same ceremony as Hinch, said in a statement, “The news that he has passed away so unexpectedly is heartbreaking... We were so looking forward to serving together because we had so many plans.”