Blankenbeker To Run For Open Merrimack County Attorney Seat In 2026

CONCORD, NH — A naval nurse, a mother and wife, a former state Representative, a previous Congressional candidate, and an attorney for nearly two decades.

Now, the county’s top cop?

That is what Lynne Blankenbeker is hoping for next year, after recently announcing she would seek the Republican nomination for Merrimack County Attorney, filling the vacancy left by outgoing county attorney Paul Halvorsen, who is not seeking a new term.

Blankenbeker has a lengthy resume since moving to the Granite State several decades ago. She became a nurse in the mid-1980s and served in the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps. Blankenbeker served overseas in Iraq in the first Gulf War and then became a naval reservist, where she has served for more than two decades, including the second Gulf War. Blankenbeker moved to Concord to attend the UNH School of Law in 2004 and earned her juris in 2007. She was elected to be a legislator in a special election floterial district in 2009 and was reelected in 2010. She did not seek reelection in 2012 because she was deployed.

During the pandemic, she was also stationed on the USNS Comfort in New York City. Blankenbeker was also a civil and criminal attorney in the legal affairs office in American Samoa, handling all kinds of different cases, including consumer protection, workman’s comp, and other cases, being of counsel for 54 cabinet members, she said.

Blankenbeker has been working part-time with the Merrimack County Attorney’s Office since July, but she is no stranger to the field. She has also previously worked with the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office, addressing its backlog of cases during the coronavirus pandemic.

Also Read

• Halvorsen Says He Won’t Run For Reelection As Merrimack County Attorney In 2026

When she came back to the United States, she worked at the Pentagon.

Earlier this year, Halvorsen asked Blankenbeker to come in and handle some of the time-consuming tasks and special projects that were bogging down other staffers, including applications for out-of-state subpoenas and the interstate compact on detainers of fugitives.

“If you have an inmate that has a crime here, but is also an inmate over in another state, we have agreements with all the other states to bring them back to adjudicate their cases here in New Hampshire,” she said.

She also handles writs of habeas corpus — reviewing prior trials when new evidence, such as DNA, might clear people who were wrongly convicted. The state has a three-year window for motions for new trials. Blankenbeker said it was an opportunity, for cases with new evidence, to get a look, “under a new lens,” to see if there were errors.

“Justice isn’t just about putting a notch in your belt,” she said, “and making sure you get people in jail. Justice is about making sure we adhere to the Constitution and that people, if they’re defendants, have their constitutional rights afforded to them. And also, we’ve got to look out for the victims as well. There’s a very delicate balance there and so making sure that … nobody wants to put the wrong person in jail; that doesn't do society any good.”

Blankenbeker said tracking down former police officers, many of whom she called “very dedicated,” had been an interesting process, and, thankfully, many of them have retired in New Hampshire. She has found the work compelling and has accomplished a lot since July, while not working full-time for the county attorney’s office in her current capacity.

Blankenbeker readily admitted Halvorsen was leaving big shoes to fill, especially considering many of the issues left by the former county attorney, being sued by former employees and being accused by rape victims of not being responsive to their cases.

“He has done a tremendous job,” she said.

Blankenbeker called many of the Merrimack County Attorney employees dedicated. She was surprised when, starting earlier this year, she saw some of the same people working at the office who were there when she interned under Dan St. Hilaire, now a judge, who was the county attorney more than 20 years ago.

“I think that speaks volumes to the dedication and the loyalty of the staff (who) are there,” Blankenbeker said. “And, you know, when you're the new person who comes in to an organization, you can tell pretty quickly the health of the organization, and that is directly driven by the leadership.”

Before being “a boss” in the military herself, Blankenbeker said servicemen and women knew who the great leaders were, as well as the difficult ones. During Halvorsen’s time leading two dozen attorneys and other employees, she had not seen some of the “gossipy” or backstabbing environment of other organizations. The camaraderie, she said, and focus on getting the important work done for the community and society, was impressive — and that started with the leadership.

“People will drop what they are doing and physically help you get to the next place,” she said. “And that kind of internal customer service is led by your leadership. When your leadership is available, and they lead by example, other people do; other people follow suit. It is a well-oiled machine. It is an office where morale is high (and) people are wildly competent … it’s a sign of a healthy organization.”

Halvorsen also supported employee education and advancement with continuing legal education, she said.

Blankenbeker said she would focus on a strategic plan for the department, including preparing for potential county retirements, mentoring, budgeting, community outreach, and accentuating the partnership between the county, the communities, and other organizations, as Halvorsen has.

“I'm excited about the opportunity to build on Paul's foundation,” she said, “to work with this really tremendous staff. But then to also bring those skills — we call them KSAs, knowledge, skills, and achievements, that we’ve gotten through the military or through other leadership opportunities, and bring those with me to the county attorney's office. (This will) help develop the staff, help with mentoring, but also work with the county and make sure that we are prepared five years down the road, 10 years down the road, and we continue this goodness so when the next county attorney comes in, they inherit a well-oiled machine, as well.”

Blankenbeker said budgeting would be a key focus of the job, especially when considering the number of attorneys in the department, their caseloads, and taxpayer money.

“Those are very important skillsets to have going into this job,” she said.

When she worked for the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, she had a $12 million budget and was responsible for manning, training, and equipping 7,000 naval reserve medicine sailors. She also served on the Merrimack County nursing home budget commission.

“You know, if I could think about going to the polls and I were going to vote for somebody who was going to be county attorney, I would look for somebody who has, obviously, prosecutorial experience, understands the job, (and) somebody who has significant management leadership experience,” she said. “When you have good leadership at the helm, you will have good recruiting and retention. People want to work for organizations that are successful and have favorable reputations. And that’s good for the county. That’s very good for county because it drives down the cost.”

Working to ensure a good working relationship between the county and legislators, too, would be important, especially in a bipartisan manner. “Commonsense legislation” will keep not only the county but the state safe, she said. Balancing the needs of those who are mentally ill, navigating the legal process, as well as ensuring the communities were safe was also important. Blankenbeker’s nursing background, she said, would help, since she understood and spoke the language of those who are serving citizens with mental illness, including orgs like Riverbend and others.

“I think that's where my nursing experience really comes in,” she said. “I have an extreme understanding of medical conditions, medical processes, to include psychiatric conditions, and that (will) help me enormously as I communicate with our mental health providers and our other providers, medical providers in the community, where I can bring that together. I speak their language, and I think there's an automatic level of credibility there.”

Blankenbeker said she was “wildly fortunate” to have been a woman born in America, being a nurse, an attorney, and serving and being a leader in the military, too. She gained people’s trust and was able to build a “very robust resume,” she added.

“I think I would be value-added at the county attorney’s office,” Blankenbeker said.

Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube or Rumble channels. Patch in New Hampshire is now in 190 communities. Also, follow Patch on Google Discover.