Hodes, Paul, 1951-

Paul William Hodes (born March 21, 1951) is an American lawyer, musician, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he notably served as the U.S. Representative from New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2011.

Born in New York City, he graduated from The Collegiate School there before earning a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College. After graduating from Dartmouth, Hodes spent three years acting, writing, and working on radio shows, returning to school to earn a J.D. from Boston College Law School. While in law school, he acted in the Boston Arts Group. Hodes worked as an attorney with the New Hampshire Department of Justice from 1978 until 1980. He was an Assistant Attorney General from 1980 until 1982, when he left to serve as a special prosecutor. From 1983 until 1996 he was in private practice. In the 1990s, Hodes was instrumental in the creation of the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. Hodes's wife Peggo is a children's musician with whom Hodes has recorded and performed as "Paul & Peggo." The couple won the 1996 Parent's Choice Honors Award for their album Patchwork Quilt and performed at the White House. Hodes ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for United States House of Representatives in 2004 against incumbent Charles Bass in New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district.

In a 2006 rematch with Bass, Hodes was victorious and he was re-elected in 2008. In September 2008, Hodes voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as "the financial bailout bill", which enacted the Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP"). He voted for the American Clean Energy and Security Act (commonly referred to as "cap and trade"), as well as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Hodes was one of the first Democrats to demand that Representative Charlie Rangel surrender his Ways and Means chairmanship in the wake of the Ethics Committee finding that he violated House rules.

Hodes was an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate seat being vacated by Judd Gregg in 2010, losing to former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte. In 2011, Hodes was named as a board member of the Public Advisory Board of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. Hodes has joined the boards of ADL, New England and the NJDC (National Jewish Democratic Council). Since 2011, Hodes has served as President of the Economic Innovation Institute, a political advocacy organization. On February 16, 2019, Hodes joined the presidential campaign of Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson as a senior campaign advisor and New Hampshire state director. In 2020, Hodes ran as a Democrat for the New Hampshire Senate from the 15th district, but lost in the primary to Becky Whitley.