In the political library at Saint Anselm’s Institute of Politics, James Thibault sat down to do his homework in a gray suit. Pins of both the New Hampshire flag and United States flag were fastened to the lapel, and his red, white and blue tie was cinched tight.

His classmate across the table played FIFA on his computer.

That’s not to say Thibault, a freshman, doesn’t like playing video games, too – the Ghost of Tsushima, a single-player adventure set in Japan is his favorite. When he’s home he also likes riding his bike on trails between Northfield and Franklin with friends.

But when the 18-year-old talks about his hometown, he now calls it his district. This week he was sworn into the New Hampshire House of Representatives to represent Franklin and Northfield. He said that makes him the youngest representative in NH, if not the country.

On one hand, Thibault can rattle off Republican priorities he views as a must for his party this session – expanding Education Freedom Accounts, protecting biological girls in sports, passing a parental bill of rights. And he can also be candid, after all he’s a recent high school graduate.

On a recent tour of the State House, someone joked they were in the presence of the youngest state legislator and he freely admitted how that felt.

“Pretty cool, I won’t lie,” he said. “It’s not something that I like to brag about, because I don’t like bragging. I just think this is me, I worked really hard on this. I’m really pleased about it, and I’m more honored than anything to represent my constituents, and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Thibault, a New Hampshire native, didn’t grow up with political aspirations. His parents didn’t take him to shake hands with candidates or sit through town halls, taking photos with presidential hopefuls.

Instead, as a fifth grader, he watched his parents advocate for his older sister, who has autism. When public school wasn’t a good fit for her, they fought the district for her to attend a charter school. The dispute grew so contentious that threats were made to involve the Division of Youth, Children and Families, he said.

“It was a really scary thing at the time and we weren’t sure what was going to happen,” he said. “From that point on, I really just wanted to go into a field where I could be an advocate for people who can’t advocate for themselves, especially people like my family, and be the sort of person that I wish I had in that situation.”

From there, he joined New Hampshire’s Legislative Youth Advisory Council – a state committee of appointed high school and college students that advises the legislature on issues pertinent to youth – and was one of two Granite State students selected for the United States Senate Youth Program, which allowed him to go to Washington D.C. and see government in action.

Turning 18, though, meant Thibault didn’t need to watch from the sidelines anymore. A week after his high school graduation, he filed to run for office.

Speaking about his family’s experience, it’s no surprise Thibault is a staunch advocate for Education Freedom Accounts, a school voucher program in the state that allows for families within a certain income bracket to receive public funding for their child to attend a private school or be homeschooled.

Although the vouchers weren’t in play in his sister’s case, the ability to choose an education that matches a student’s needs, especially in the case of special education, is a right he thinks all New Hampshire students should have.

His younger sister will begin homeschooling in January.

Family rights are a common thread with Thibault’s strong beliefs. He viewed the start of his high school experience, where a pandemic-era mask mandate was in place, as an infringement on student rights.

He had debates over free speech – challenging Winnisquam High School’s hesitancy to allow him to start a chapter of Young Americans for Freedom on campus, a conservative youth organization, with a cease-desist letter from the organization’s lawyers.

That experience inspired ideas for future legislation that protects high school students’ free speech rights. Last year, a similar bill passed that cemented First Amendment rights on college campuses.

“I loved that bill,” he said. “My only critique with it was the fact that it didn’t protect high school students as well.”

Such a protection wasn’t among the legislative service requests – proposed bills for the upcoming session – from Thibault or any other House members.

Instead, Thibault focused on state civics – putting in two proposals to commemorate Daniel Webster’s birthday as a state holiday and to have New Hampshire’s copy of the Declaration of Independence, which is the oldest in the country and currently in state archives, to be put on permanent display in the State House.

He hopes to co-sponsor a handful of education bills that would prohibit schools from enacting mask mandates, requiring that communism be taught in school curriculum and allowing for school choice in districts that have multiple options, like the Manchester or Nashua high schools, for example.

To run for the New Hampshire House of Representatives, candidates must be 18 years old. There’s no formality to prove that though. Instead, candidates sign an affidavit swearing they’re of age, according to Anna Sventek, communications director for the Secretary of State’s Office.

That made the process of confirming he’s the youngest more complicated. To him, it’s an honor he’s tracked word of mouth.

He knows Valerie McDonnell, a Salem Republican, who ran for the House in 2022 while she was a senior in high school and was the youngest representative last session. His birthday is after hers.

And through his involvement in youth political committees and network, he said there’s a natural who-is-who of young people running for office.

Although he has friends who are also old enough to run for office, financially it’s not feasible. In Texas, for example, prospective candidates have to pay $750 to file, or get 500 signatures from voters.

“They just think it’s super cool because in almost any other state it’s impossible to run at such a young age,” he said. “It’s simply not realistic because it’s too expensive.”

In New Hampshire, he could print a few palm cards, buy yard signs and then go door to door. It’s what makes running in the Granite State unique, he said.

Thibault spent just over $3,000 on his campaign, $250 of which was his own money to kick things off. An early piece of advice he got was to go through his phone and call every number asking for a donation. That’s a bit harder when most of those contacts are college students, he joked.

Instead, the state Republican party helped fund his candidacy. State Sen. Dan Innis, a Bradford Republican, chipped in $520. The Merrimack County Republican Committee gave him another $500. The New Hampshire Young Republicans PAC contributed $200.

He was also able to save on a few costs – like designing his own website (a benefit of understanding technology, he joked).

In picking his courses for next semester, Thibault had a few more considerations to make than most college students. He’s blocked off Thursdays for House sessions and only takes one class a day where he can for committee assignments.

He’s looking forward to taking a congressional power class with former U.S. Sen. John Sununu and a course that dissects politics and culture through Marvel movies.

But first up was organization day, where he was sworn in as a representative on Dec. 4. He had friends come in from out of state to celebrate, a perfect chance to show off the New Hampshire State House.

To do so, he missed Saint Anselm’s last day of classes. It’s not the first time he skipped this semester, though. On Election Day (both the primary and general) you could find him outside the polls with constituents, instead of in the classroom.