On Oct. 16, the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and Dartmouth Civics co-hosted the chairs of the respective New Hampshire state Republican and Democratic parties — Chris Ager and Raymond Buckley — for a discussion titled “From Tuning Out to Turning Out: Young Voter Engagement in the 2024 Election.” The conversation was facilitated by Dartmouth Civics co-presidents Armita Mirkarimi ’25 and Bea Burack ’25.
Ager and Buckley opened the event by discussing how their personal experiences influenced their careers in politics. Ager said he was first introduced to civic engagement during his seven-year period as the Adjutant of the 94th Regional Support Command based in Fort Devens, MA. After moving to New Hampshire, Ager joined his local rotary club — a community-service organization.
“And that was … civic engagement,” he said. “It’s like the old classical de Tocqueville type of America, where people could just get together and do something because it needs to be done.”
Ager said he “worked his way up” to become more formally involved in politics. Previously he served on the Merrimack School Board Chairman & Budget committee and as part of the Lions Club. Ager was then elected as the Republican chairman of New Hampshire on January 28, 2023. He has been a Republican National Committeeman, Republican Town Chairman, County Chairman and member of the State GOP Committee.
Buckley, meanwhile, said he became interested in civic engagement when he began volunteering in his community at eight years old. His passion for civic engagement was amplified when he later convinced his parents to register to vote, he explained.
Ager and Buckley then discussed their responsibilities as party chairs, which they agreed centered around fundraising. Ager added that chairs are in charge of equipping, training and recruiting in support of their party’s candidates.
Buckley also noted that he often acts as a mediator to ensure that various members of the party are all “heading in the right direction.”
“Not all [party] activists like to get along with other activists,” he said.
Buckley added that he has made expanding representation in politics a priority of his tenure, because he “honestly thought [he] was the only gay person in New Hampshire” for a while after beginning his career in politics.
Both party chairs urged greater youth voter turnout in elections. Ager acknowledged that many younger voters tend to vote for Democratic candidates, but he said the New Hampshire Republican Party is working to enlarge its “big tent.”
Buckley said the results of the upcoming presidential election could bring about significant changes, including the possibility of new Supreme Court justices.
Mirkarimi then asked Ager and Buckley about H.B. 1569, which now requires a physical proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. Previously, Dartmouth students were only required to present their Dartmouth identification to register.
Ager described the change as “easy.”
“You just need to take the documentation with you,” he said.
On the other hand, Buckley said the rule change “does impact people of color in a larger percentage” and creates “a barrier that tries to discourage the public to vote because they vote Democratic.”
Despite their disagreement around voting registration, Burack emphasized after the event “how civil these two men were with one another.”
“If you’ve spent a lot of time around politics, which I have, you know that it is not always that civil, and there isn’t a ton of communication between the parties, or at least positive communication between the parties,” Burack said. “I think it was really interesting for me to see that at that top level between these two state party chairs, there is a lot of civility.”
Hyunjin Rheem ’25, who attended the event, shared a similar sentiment.
“I see politics in the United States as being very polarized now, so it’s very refreshing being able to hear party chairs talk about politics and voting in such a way that’s nonpartisan,” Rheem said.
Attendee Nolan Baker ’25 said one of his takeaways was the importance of voting.
“I think voting is fundamentally important in seeing the changes you want to make,” he said.
