Politics & Government
Democrat State Rep, Congressional Candidate, Follows Up Shaheen Attack With Pro-Palestine, 'F The Police' Video
State Rep. Heath Howard says his campaign is "completely grassroots funded and refuses any money from corporate PACs or groups like AIPAC."
State Rep. Heath Howard (D-Strafford) made national headlines for his NH-01 primary campaign by heckling U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen at a state party fundraiser on Friday.
Now he’s following up with a TikTok attack on Shaheen and other establishment Democrats over their support for Israel.
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The video, which lists the amount of financial support Shaheen and U.S. Reps. Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander have received from the pro-Israel organization AIPAC, which also features a soundtrack from rapper Macklemore:
“(Hey) Block the barricade until Palestine is free
When I was seven, I learned a lesson from Cube and Eazy-E
What was it again? Oh yeah, f*** the police.”
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Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, wrote the song Howard chose, Hinds Hall, to show his support for anti-Israel and antisemitic protesters at major U.S. universities.
Howard touts the fact that his campaign is “completely grassroots funded and refuses any money from corporate PACs or groups like AIPAC.”
Anti-Israel and anti-AIPAC sentiment have become a pillar of progressive politics. In fact, it’s even spreading to more moderate Democrats like U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who’s challenging U.S. Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts.
Moulton is backing Maura Sullivan in the NH-01 Democratic primary. She’s also featured in Howard’s TikTok video over the $7,375 she’s received, according to the anti-Israel organization Track AIPAC.
Howard backs Medicare for All, free public college, and raising Social Security taxes on high earners — all issues popular on the left of the Democratic Party. However, he’s not the only progressive candidate in the primary. Harvard University instructor Carleigh Beriont, nonprofit leader Sarah Chadzynski, and attorney Christian Urrutia share many of the same policy positions.
But it’s Howard who got all the attention on Friday. When Shaheen told the fundraiser, “Nobody wants to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits more than me,” he shot back, “Then why did you vote for it (to end the shutdown)?”
Shaheen retorted, “You look at our record, and you tell me what you’ve done to protect the healthcare of Americans, and it’s not even close to what we’ve done.”
Shaheen may be the state’s senior senator, but she’s also approaching 80 and on her way out the door. Howard hasn’t back down from criticizing Shaheen, as the TikTok video shows.
Political professionals believe Shaheen’s last name could be enough to win a crowded primary, though they also note Sullivan has outraised the senator’s daughter and she’s an experienced campaigner. At the same time, the progressive base is energized, and if a candidate can coalesce their support, it could be enough to win the September 2026 primary.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a national organization backing leftwing candidates, gave Howard a shoutout Monday.
“Props to Heath Howard for holding Sen. Shaheen accountable after she made a deal with Republicans that will cost millions of Americans their health care. Don’t let them forget.”
This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.
