New Republican Congressional candidate wants to bring back small government, restore consensus-based approach

MANCHESTER, N.H. – There is a lot of polarization in the country right now, and one local man recently felt that he wanted to do his part in correcting that.

Walter McFarlane III is one of seven candidates on the ballot running for the Republican nomination to New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, a nomination that would likely pit the winner against incumbent U.S. Representative Chris Pappas.

While some of the Republican candidates have been campaigning for nearly a year, McFarlane got into the race in June after he felt there was no candidate who could rise above the rest and win in the general election.

“I thought long and hard about it, but I wasn’t hearing the voice out of the candidates that I was hoping to hear. I wasn’t hearing the thoughts on the issues that I had. I wasn’t hearing a strong voice that I thought could beat Chris (Pappas) in November,” he said.

McFarlane sees himself as a more moderate Republican, believing that the government should only focus on things that he says belong within the purview of government while allowing people to follow their own course on other matters.

However, he believes that both Republicans and Democrats instead focus on little more than red meat for their respective bases and investigations of their political adversaries rather than actual issues of concern to voters such as national debt, mass shootings, border security and unchecked foreign intervention in wars. Ultimately, McFarlane believes this back and forth from one extreme to another is ultimately unsustainable.

“I am running because I want a return to civility, a return to normalcy. As cliché as it sounds, I think our leaders, especially in Washington, need to spend more time focusing on gaining a consensus,” he said.

This year marks McFarlane’s first time as a political candidate. A graduate of Trinity High School in Manchester, he volunteered for local Republican campaigns in the past, such as those of Bill Zeliff, Ray Wieczorek and Judd Gregg, before earning a Master’s in Business Administration from Canisius College. Over the last 25 years, he has worked in a variety of food and beverage production companies across New Hampshire such as JacPac and other parts of the country as well.

He believes both his inexperience as a politician and his experience as a businessman will help him present himself as a fresh perspective for New Hampshire voters.

“With what we’re seeing right now with inflation, I am the right person for the job,” he said. “We need someone with a business person mentality to make the government live within its budget.”

Despite his confidence, McFarlane realizes that his late entry into the race and the multitude of other political things going on locally and nationally will make it difficult for him to get his voice heard. However, he believes that with continued effort and a reminder that most voters don’t make up their minds until just before heading into the polls that there is still time left to make his mark.

“People involved in the process often forget that when we’re busy campaigning, people are busy running their own lives,” he said. “So, it’s important that when we’re talking to voters that we talk to them about kitchen table issues, issues that Democratic (Party) policies don’t speak to.”

State and Federal Primary Day in New Hampshire is on Sept. 10. More information on McFarlane is available at mcfarnlaneforcongress.com