NH Girl Scout Who Helped End Child Marriage Wins Election

BARRINGTON, NH -- A New Hampshire teenager and Girl Scout who helped end child marriage in the state was elected state representative Tuesday. Cassie Levesque, 19, of Barrington, was part of a youthful Democratic wave that crashed over the Granite State. Democrats flipped the House and Senate and won both congressional races.

Granite State citizens elected perhaps their youngest and most diverse legislature ever Tuesday. Melanie Levesque became the first black woman elected to the Senate and in Concord, voters elected Safiya Wazier to the House. Wazier, 27, escaped the Taliban and recently earned her American citizenship. New Hampshire voters also elected their first transgender lawmakers to Congress and the state legislature.

Cassie Levesque won the seat formerly occupied by respected politician Jackie Cilley, who retired. The teen worked with Cilley to raise the marriage age in New Hampshire to 16. Previously the legal marriage age in the state had been 13 -- the lowest in the country.

"A lot of what happens in politics has been all about men for years," Levesque told the Concord Monitor after her win. "It’s really time for girls to start taking the lead on things."

Levesque won praise from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for her marriage bill, which was signed into law by Governor Chris Sununu in the summer.

"Virtually everyone agrees that the marriage of a 13-year-old child is unconscionable, and now our laws will reflect that," Sununu said at the time.

New Hampshire 2018 Midterm Election Results

• NH Democratic Wave Halted At Governor's Office; Sununu Re-Elected
• Chris Pappas First LGBTQ Congressman For NH
• NH Trump-Backed Candidate Loses Congressional Race
• Family Leave, Marijuana Bills Likely After Democratic Wave

Photo credit: New Hampshire Women's Foundation