Carol Shea-Porter was the first woman ever elected to national office from NH. Carol decided to run for Congress after she volunteered in New Orleans during Katrina, saw the miserable federal response, and realized someone from NH had to speak up for what she called "the rest of us, the bottom 99%." Her campaign in 2006 was called The Cinderella Campaign by the pundits, because they did not believe that a candidate who took no business PAC or DC lobbyist money could win. She and her grassroots supporters proved them wrong, and Carol is still in Congress, fighting for the rest of us.    

She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the Education and Labor Committee, and Natural Resources. She has earned a reputation in NH and Washington as a strong advocate for our troops and vets, and The National Veterans of Foreign Wars endorsed her last election because of her unwavering support for them. She was a military spouse and is proud of her husband's service. She also is known for her successful efforts to hold defense contractors accountable. On the Education and Labor Committee, she is a strong voice for public schools and helping families pay for college. She refused to support No Child Left Behind because it was unfair to schools, teachers, students, and families.  On Natural Resources, she fights for clean energy, clean water and air, and land preservation.  

Carol and her husband live in NH with their two grown children. She graduated from Oyster River High School in Durham, and has an undergraduate degree in Social Services and a Master's Degree in Public Administration, both from UNH. She grew up in a middle class family and worked her way through college, so she understands and fights for the middle class. She said in her campaign in 2006, "The next generation deserves the same opportunities that I had: affordable education and health care, and a livable wage...I want to make sure that your children and mine can still afford to dream big and reach their goals." She is hard at work for.....the rest of us!