| Renny Cushing | |
| Office: | Minority Leader of the New Hampshire House of Representatives |
| Term Start: | December 2, 2020 |
| Term End: | March 7, 2022 On leave: March 2, 2022 – March 7, 2022 |
| Predecessor: | Dick Hinch |
| Successor: | David Cote |
| Office1: | Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives |
| Term Start1: | December 2012 |
| Term End1: | March 7, 2022 |
| Constituency1: | Rockingham 21st |
| Term Start2: | December 2008 |
| Term End2: | December 2010 |
| Constituency2: | Rockingham 15th |
| Term Start3: | December 1996 |
| Term End3: | December 1998 |
| Constituency3: | Rockingham 22nd |
| Term Start4: | December 1986 |
| Term End4: | December 1988 |
| Constituency4: | Rockingham 14th |
| Birth Name: | Robert Reynolds Cushing Jr. |
| Birth Date: | 20 July 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Hampton, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Education: | Granite State College |
Robert Reynolds Cushing Jr. (July 20, 1952 – March 7, 2022) was an American politician who was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives as a Democrat from the town of Hampton. First elected in 1996, Cushing represented Rockingham District 21. He served nine non-consecutive terms (previously representing Rockingham Districts 14, 15 and 22).[1] [2]
Cushing was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Robert R. Cushing Sr and Marie (Mulcahy) Cushing. At the age of 15, he spoke at the State House and argued in favor of lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
He was raised Hampton, New Hampshire with his six younger siblings and graduated from Winnacunnet High School in Hampton. He also later served as the elected moderator of the Winnacunnet School District from 1993.[3]
He briefly attended Granite State College, before dropping out and working a number of miscellaneous jobs across the US as well as Canada, including as a sanitation worker, a miner, and a farmworker. He then settled back in New Hampshire and took up welding and carpentry.
Cushing's first foray into civic engagement was in the 1970s, when he was involved with the Clamshell Alliance, an anti-nuclear coalition that opposed construction of the Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Seabrook, New Hampshire. In June 1988, Cushing's father was murdered by a disgruntled off-duty policeman in his own house.[4] He became involved with the trial of his father’s murderer and began advocating to abolish capital punishment.[5] In 1998, he became executive director of Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation.
During the 2019–20 legislative session, Cushing led the effort in the New Hampshire General Court to approve legislation abolishing the death penalty,[6] including successful votes in the House and Senate to override Governor Chris Sununu's veto.[7]
On November 19, 2020, the New Hampshire House Democrats chose Cushing to lead them during the 2021–22 legislative session of the General Court.[8]
Cushing was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in 2020. He took a leave of absence as Democratic leader for health reasons on March 2, 2022, and died from the disease and complications of COVID-19 at his home in Hampton, New Hampshire, five days later, on March 7, at the age of 69.[9] He was survived by his wife Kristie Conrad, whom he married in 1989, as well as his three daughters: Marie Ellen, Elizabeth Agnes and Grace Bridget Cushing.