Jason Osborne (politician)
Jason Osborne | |
|---|---|
Osborne in 2023 | |
| Majority Leader of the New Hampshire House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office December 2, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Douglas Ley |
| Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from the Rockingham 2nd district | |
| Assumed office December 3, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Gene Charron Stella Tremblay Dan Dumaine |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 15, 1977 |
| Party | Republican |
Jason M. Osborne (born June 15, 1977) is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. He represents Rockingham 2, comprising the towns of Auburn, Chester, and Sandown.[1]
In November 2020, the Republican caucus chose him to serve as the New Hampshire House Majority Leader.[2]
Biography
Osborne is from Defiance, Ohio, where his family founded Credit Adjustments, Inc. (CAI), a debt collections company, in 1964.[3][4] Osborne joined the family firm in 1995 and worked as the CIO, and later CEO.[5][6]
In 2010, Osborne moved to New Hampshire from Ohio as part of the Free State Project.[7][8]
Business and legal issues
In 2022, reporting by New Hampshire Public Radio and the New Hampshire Business Review detailed the decline of Mammoth Tech Inc., a company with which Osborne was associated as a director.[9] The company, formerly known as Credit Adjustment Inc., had received more than $4 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.[10][11] In March 2022, Mammoth Tech closed its operations, laying off all remaining employees in New Hampshire and additional employees in Ohio. The closures occurred without advance notice to employees, even as the company had received federal funding intended to retain staff.[9]
Following the layoffs, Mammoth Tech faced multiple legal and financial challenges, including a class-action lawsuit alleging failure to provide required notice to employees, a lawsuit from its landlord over unpaid rent, financial judgments related to contractual disputes, and disability discrimination claims from former employees. Some former employees reported long hours and disputed pay and benefits following the closures.[9] Former pregnant employees have reportedly filed two disability discrimination suits, one settled and one ongoing.[12]
As of early 2023, the class-action lawsuit remained active.
In October 2025, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office issued several cease-and-desist orders and civil penalties related to campaign finance reporting requirements. As part of the enforcement actions, Jason Osborne, then House Majority Leader, and the political committee he chairs, Friends of Jason Osborne, were cited for failing to file required campaign finance reports in a timely manner for both the 2022 and 2024 election cycles. Osborne was ordered to pay $2,000 in civil penalties for the late filings, and instructed to comply with state campaign finance laws. The actions stemmed from notices sent by the Attorney General’s Election Law Unit, which found Osborne’s committee’s reports were significantly overdue and that required itemized receipts and expenditures had not been filed on schedule.[13]
Political career
Osborne is a Republican. As New Hampshire House Majority Leader, Osborne has been credited with achieving conservative legislative victories despite the Republican caucus's slim majority.[4][14]
Political positions
Abortion
In 2017, Osborne voted for SB 66, which authorizes murder charges for an individual who causes the death of a fetus.[15] In 2021, he voted for HB 625, which prohibits abortions after 24 weeks.[16] He has also voted to repeal New Hampshire buffer zone law and against requiring insurance plans that cover maternity benefits to include coverage for emergency or elective abortion services.[16] In 2022, Osborne voted with Democrats to table HB 1477, a bill that would have prohibited abortion upon the detection of a fetal heartbeat.[17]
Gun safety
In June 2022, Osborne proposed that firearms training be taught at every grade level in public schools.[18] He also described efforts to pass gun safety measures at the federal level as "fruity ideas."[19]
Marijuana legalization
Osborne argued for the legalization of cannabis in New Hampshire in a 2023 op-ed titled "Conservative case for cannabis reform".[20]
Endorsements
Osborne endorsed Florida governor Ron DeSantis for president in 2023, calling the governor, "exactly the leader America needs today." [21]
Personal life
Osborne's children do not attend public school.[22] Osborne's wife, Sharon, is the chair and director of Latitude Learning Resources, a nonprofit offering cross-curricular classes for homeschoolers and other students.[23][24][25]
Controversy
In 2022, archived online forum posts from Osborne dating between 2007 and 2011 resurfaced. In the posts, Osborne used a racial slur and made remarks that were widely criticized as sexist, including comments about women breastfeeding. Some of the posts also included language suggesting he opposed age-of-consent laws. The resurfacing of these posts drew public criticism and coverage in local media. Osborne later expressed regret for the language in some of the resurfaced posts.[26][27][28]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jess Edwards (incumbent) | 6,686 | 14 | |
| Republican | Chris True (incumbent) | 6,330 | 13.3 | |
| Republican | Jason Osborne (incumbent) | 6,235 | 13.1 | |
| Republican | Tony Piemonte (incumbent) | 5,982 | 12.5 | |
| Republican | Oliver Ford | 5,966 | 12.5 | |
| Democratic | Michael D'Angelo | 3,533 | 7.4 | |
| Democratic | Jane Van Zandt | 3,441 | 7.4 | |
| Democratic | Matthew Krohn | 3,178 | 6.7 | |
| Democratic | Ben Geiger | 3,162 | 6.6 | |
| Democratic | Russell Normal | 3,158 | 6.6 | |
| Total votes | 47,676 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chris True (incumbent) | 4,416 | 12.6 | |
| Republican | Jess Edwards (incumbent) | 4,371 | 12.5 | |
| Republican | Becky Owens | 4,236 | 12.1 | |
| Republican | Jason Osborne (incumbent) | 4,093 | 11.7 | |
| Republican | Tony Piemonte | 3,948 | 11.3 | |
| Democratic | Cynthia Herman | 2,934 | 8.4 | |
| Democratic | Todd Bedard | 2,834 | 8.1 | |
| Democratic | Patrick McLaughlin | 2,784 | 8.0 | |
| Democratic | Stephen D'Angelo | 2,698 | 7.7 | |
| Democratic | Benjamin Geiger | 2,622 | 7.5 | |
| Total votes | 34,940 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
References
- ^ "Jason Osborne (New Hampshire)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-05-16.
- ^ "Jason Osborne Will Be New House Majority Leader". InsideSources. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ "Our Story: Credit Adjustments Inc". Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ a b Rogers, Josh (June 14, 2021). "Out Of Public Eye, Jason Osborne Helps Lead Historic Push By GOP In N.H. House". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "Key People: Credit Adjustments Inc". Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ "Jason Osborne". THE INTELLIGENT INVESTING PODCAST. Archived from the original on 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ^ KITCH, MICHAEL (2021-08-30). "'Liberty Republicans' and an evolving GOP". Concord Monitor. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ Wolfe, Rob (2021-11-07). "The White Mountain Boys". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ a b c Sanders, Bob (2022-07-13). "Once over 500 employees strong, company owned by N.H. House Majority Leader now has none". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
- ^ "ProPublica: Tracking PPP". Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ "New Name, New Future - Mammoth Tech is Here" (Press release). 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ Sanders, Bob (2022-07-13). "The decline and fall of NH House majority leader's Mammoth Tech Inc". New Hampshire Business Review. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "Cease and desist orders related to campaign finance matters sent to NH politicians, groups". WMUR. 2025-10-18. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
- ^ Brakey, Eric (July 24, 2021). "The rise of the 'Liberty Republican'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "SB 66 - Authorizes Murder Charges for an Individual Who Causes the Death of a Fetus - New Hampshire Key Vote". VoteSmart. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
- ^ a b "Jessie Osborne's Voting Records on Issue: Abortion". VoteSmart. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
- ^ "Bill Tracking in New Hampshire: HB 1477". FastDemocracy. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
- ^ @Osborne4NH (June 12, 2022). "Here's a commonsense gun safety reform: yearly age-appropriate firearms training in school at every grade level" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Sexton, Adam (2022-06-12), CloseUp: NH House Majority Leader promises no new abortion restrictions, retrieved 2022-06-16
- ^ "Rep. Jason Osborne: Conservative case for cannabis reform". New Hampshire Union Leader. April 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Petrizzo, Zachary; Lahut, Jake (May 5, 2023). "Trail Mix: Trumpworld Stews Over DeSantis Defectors: An ex-Trump aide's decision to work for the Florida governor's political operation got the MAGA political class buzzing—and could preview a bitter 2024 primary". Daily Beast (New York).
- ^ Sexton, Adam (2022-06-12). "CloseUp: NH House Majority Leader promises no new abortion restrictions".
- ^ "New Hampshire Department of State".
- ^ "Facebook Latitude Learning Resources". Facebook. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ "Latitude Learning Resources". Archived from the original on 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ DeWitt, Ethan (September 1, 2022). "N.H. House majority leader used racist slur on online forum, resurfaced post shows". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ DeWitt, Ethan (2022-09-01). "NH House majority leader used racial slur on online forum, resurfaced post shows • New Hampshire Bulletin". New Hampshire Bulletin. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
- ^ Sexton, Adam (2022-09-01). "NH House majority leader says he regrets repeated use of racial slur in old online post". WMUR. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
- ^ a b "New Hampshire House of Representatives District Rockingham 4". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-06-14.