By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
Republican Bill Hamlen is passionate about the needs of Granite Staters, and the “commonsense conservative” is running for the District 2 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives with a focus on curbing inflation, securing the border and backing the policies of Donald Trump, especially regarding energy.
“This race is about someone like me who is not afraid to embrace Trump’s policies,” Hamlen said. “I think I am the only one in this field who is qualified to help him free up American energy. Other people talk about it, but the difference is that I know how to do it. I did it for 30 years.”
Hamlen said there are a lot of places in this world where politics and oil meet, such as Saudi Arabia. He has dealt with people in the Middle East as an oil trader and can bring this to the table if he is elected to Congress.
“I’ve sat down with Saudi oil ministers,” Hamlen said. “As an oil trader, I wore two hats. One is a supply/demand economist, and the other is political analyst.”
Hamlen has a lifetime in skills in getting deals done — something that nobody on either side of the aisle possesses, he said.
“I know how to get deals done,” Hamlen said. “Some people have asked me how I am going to deal with the other side. That’s a good question. I can tell you, I’ve been doing it all my life. I know how to get things done with adversaries. That’s what a good trader does. You work with people who are adversaries, find common ground, and get deals done.”
He comes from a middle-class background where his father was a chemist and mother was a nurse in New Jersey. He was raised as a Catholic and was an altar boy in church. Hamlen was also an Eagle Scout, showing his determination and valued skill set starting at a young age and working his way up through adulthood.
Hamlen has a unique life experience where he worked on a farm and eventually became an international energy trader.
“My first real job was working on a farm, and it was a dream job,” he said. “It was a dream job. I was in high school, and I went in and interviewed, and before I knew it, I was learning how to drive tractors and bail hay. I took care of a couple of horses named Flash and Star. We had a herd of cows and I shoveled a lot of manure. That’s where I learned the value of hard work.”
This farm had 60 head of cattle and was a serious farm, but there was also a glitter factory on site. In rainy days he had to work in the factory, and this is where the glitter was made. Occasionally a container would spill, and everything on that farm would sparkle. The funny thing about it was that when he was a senior in college interviewing for jobs, this was the number one inquiry after reviewing his resume.
“I always tell young people: find your glitter factory,” he said. “Metaphorically, it is that thing about you that sparkles. People always asked. It taught me that people don’t always care about the obvious when looking for a job.”
When looking for colleges, he heard about the best outing club in the country. This was at Dartmouth, which he fell in love with.
“I was lucky enough to get in and at age 18, I packed my bags, went to Hanover and fell in love with New Hampshire,” he said. “People say you’re lucky if you have love at first sight. Well, I had that twice. Once with my wife and also with New Hampshire.”
By the 1980s, Hamlen had entered into a career in energy. Ultimately he became an energy trading specialist trading products across the globe. He met his wife in Manhattan and has been married 28 years, fathering two children. When it was time to settle down, he came back to his “base camp” in New Hampshire.
Hamlen said there are many signs that the U.S. is heading into a recession, and this is why inflation sits atop his list of platforms he is running on. When inflation hits, historically there is a goldilocks period, he said. During that period there are people thinking that things aren’t bad. It takes a bit to sink in, and Hamlen said the reality is that in New Hampshire the cost of living has gone up $1,000 per month since Biden took office.
“That is inflation,” Hamlen said. “Just because inflation goes down doesn’t mean that goes away.”
Hamlen said between 2016 and 2020, there was more than 20% real growth with no inflation. Since President Joe Biden took office, we have also seen roughly 20% growth, but inflation at over 20% has negated those gains. This leaves us right where they were in 2020.
“We’ve made zero progress under Biden,” Hamlen said. “A recent jobs growth revision showed 800,000 less jobs than reported. The Biden Administration put out some fishy numbers and keep revising them lower.”
Protecting the children of New Hampshire is also a top priority, and he spoke about being the father of two female athletes. He denounced liberal policies that he says are destroying women’s sports and stressed that it is his goal to put an end to biological men competing against women in sports.
Hamlen’s daughter swam against Lia Thomas of Penn in the Ivy League Championships during her time at Dartmouth. He said they were bullied into silence and watched as “a giant man swam slowly in the 1500-meter because he didn’t want to win by too big a margin.”
Hamlen later spoke at the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women, and swimmer Riley Gaines was a guest. He said that his daughter and Gaines shared stories about being bullied into silence, as well.
“My daughter spoke to Riley Gaines and they both compared notes about how they were bullied by their swim coaches,” he said. “Bullied into saying nothing. My daughter was threatened that they would kick her off the team if she or teammates said or did anything to protest swimming against a biological male.”
He said Gaines spoke about how she had to put her swimsuit on in front of a biological male. He added, “I am 100% against this.”
Hamlen said one of the reasons he is running for office is to protect the American Dream for our children and grandchildren. Securing the border is one of the top aspects of his platform.
“I think we as a nation are heading the wrong direction,” Hamlen said. “The open borders are madness. We’ve got rising crime and the worst inflation since the 1970s. Democrats will tell you inflation is falling, but the price of living hasn’t fallen.”
Hamlen can be reached through his website at hamlenforcongress.com.
