JENNIFER HORN
Born in 1964 in Albany, New York, Jennifer Horn attended The College of Saint Rose from 1982 to 1986. At 44, she was a stay-at-home mom raising five children, writing a popular newspaper column for The Telegraph of Nashua, and keeping involved with several nonprofit efforts. From 2006 to 2010, she hosted an award-winning radio talk show, "On the Air with Jennifer Horn," on WSMN, a local radio station in New Hampshire.
In 2008, she decided to run for Congress in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District, becoming the first woman nominated by the Republican Party in the state for federal office. Archives of Women's Political Communication Although she lost that race to Democrat Paul Hodes, she ran again in 2010, but lost to former Representative Charles Bass in the Republican primary.
In 2013, she was elected chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, defeating Andrew Hemingway with the backing of U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte and other elected officials. She was unanimously re-elected in 2015, serving two terms until January 2017. She was the first person to serve more than one term as state GOP chair since the early 2000s, demonstrating her leadership and organizational abilities during a pivotal time in New Hampshire politics.
In 2011, Horn founded the conservative nonprofit organization "We the People: A First in the Nation Freedom Forum," which promoted freedom through personal responsibility and limited government. The organization sponsored town hall meetings across New Hampshire in the lead-up to the state's first-in-the-nation primary.
In 2007, she received the Spirit of Hope Award for her work with the Chernobyl Children Project, USA, Inc., demonstrating her commitment to humanitarian causes beyond politics.
During the 2016 Trump presidential campaign, she felt forced into the position of having to choose between defending Donald Trump or defending what she believed were the Republican principles of the party. In an interview, she stated: "I promised myself a long time ago that I would never say or do anything I can't defend to my children. I can't be silent now."
In December 2019, Horn co-founded the Lincoln Project with other prominent Republican strategists. The anti-Trump political action committee aimed to urge disaffected Republicans and right-leaning independents to vote against Trump, with Horn stating, "I want a president who is going to defend the Constitution and be a voice for the principles and values that I have fought for my whole adult life."
She led the effort to build Republicans and Independents For Biden, a national coalition of over 150 leaders that included former Governors, Senators, and other prominent figures.
In February 2021, Horn resigned from the Lincoln Project, citing "grotesque and inappropriate behavior" by co-founder John Weaver, who faced allegations of sexual harassment from nearly two dozen men. Her departure reflected her commitment to ethical leadership and accountability.
She became an Independent in December 2020, explaining that the Republican Party's transformation under Trump was irreconcilable with her principles.
She is currently a member of the USA Today Board of Contributors, where she continues to write about political issues and democratic values. Horn remains committed to fighting for constitutional conservatism, democratic principles, and holding leaders accountable to the American people.
