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    • Opposites fight in the 2nd district of NH
    Enterprise

    Opposites fight in the 2nd district of NH

    Idris Bevan Posted on

    CONCORD – The race for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District is led by two unique and contrasting candidates.

    On the Democratic side is Maggie Goodlander, a former Biden administration official who is married to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. But aside from her D.C. family tree, she was born and raised in Nashua and comes from a prominent Republican political family in the state.

    Republican candidate Lily Tang Williams, on the other hand, was born in China and lived there for 24 years. The rental property manager is a perennial candidate, having previously unsuccessfully run for office in both New Hampshire and Colorado.

    The two are running in the first open race for the seat in over a decade. The winner will succeed Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster, who has represented the Second District since 2013 and decided not to seek re-election.

    The Second District includes the western, northern and much of the southern non-coastal portions of the state, as well as the cities of Concord and Nashua and Hanover, home of Dartmouth College. The district leans Democratic, and recent polls show Goodlander with a solid double-digit lead over Williams.

    Goodlander said when the congressional seat became available, her friends and family encouraged her to get involved in the race.

    “My mother ran for the seat when I was two years old. I’ve been involved in politics my whole life, but I’ve never run for office before… it’s been an adventure,” she said. “It would truly be the honor of my life to represent the 2nd District in Congress.”

    Goodlander has deep national political ties. She has served in all three branches of the U.S. government, working for Biden, former Senator John McCain and former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, to name a few. She was supported by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who gave a speech at her wedding.

    But Goodlander also emphasized her ties to New Hampshire. Her grandfather, Samuel Tamposi, was a prominent GOP activist and her mother, Betty Tamposi, ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Republican in 1988. A Nashua native, she said she enjoys driving on the Kancamagus Highway this time of year to see the foliage.

    Goodlander also served as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve for 11 years, received a degree from Yale Law School, and taught constitutional law at UNH and Dartmouth.

    Goodlander was criticized both in the primary and by her Republican opponent for being a “DC insider” and for having been out of state for a long time.

    “I am the only candidate in this race who was born and raised here in New Hampshire,” she said. “I’m New Hampshire through and through. This is my home. It has always been my home. It is the state that made me who I am today and it is the place where my husband and I truly hope to raise our family one day.”

    How does Goodlander feel about these issues?

    Goodlander’s top priorities could be summed up in three words: “Fairness, freedom and democracy.” These include high housing costs, reproductive rights and protecting American democracy.

    “Day 3 of this job is January 6,” she said. “I came to this work, you know, having fought for voting rights over the course of my career here in New Hampshire and deeply believing that we still have a lot of work to do to protect our democracy and ensure that every vote is counted and that we see a peaceful transfer of power in this country.”

    She has often discussed abortion rights and overturning Roe v. in her campaign. Wade emphasized. During her controversial primary campaign against Colin Van Ostern, she highlighted her gender and her own experience with the loss of a child to show that it is “personal” to her.

    In addition to housing, she also plans to cut costs by supporting proposals that reduce the cost of child care and elder care.

    Goodlander said the country’s immigration laws are outdated. Her grandfather immigrated to the United States from Greece, she said, at a time when the immigration system could “meet this moment.” She wants to see immigration reform similar to the bipartisan immigration reform bill that failed after public objections from former President Donald Trump in early 2023 and included methods to prevent drugs from crossing the border.

    “I’m a person who has always found ways to work across the aisle,” Goodlander said, adding that her time in the Navy taught her to “silence the nonsense” like partisan bickering.

    “I learned how to do that and how to work with people who I might disagree with on a lot of things, aside from the mission that’s right in front of us,” she said, adding her oft-repeated phrase that She is a “workhorse” and not a “show horse”. “I think we need more of that in Congress because there’s way too much hubris.”

    Williams said she grew up in China under Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution. She said she felt “very alone” during this time and was unable to express her opinions. On her campaign website, she said she experienced poor living conditions, food rationing and communist indoctrination.

    She came to the United States as a legal immigrant in 1988 to pursue graduate studies.

    “I had to learn English. I had to struggle financially to complete my graduate studies, pay the bills, pay off my debts and learn about my new country and culture,” she said. The reason she came was because of the American ideals of freedom, equality and independence, she said.

    But now she’s worried that America is “changing.”

    “How terrible if we go down the path of socialist politics in this country, you know, even communism. I really care about fighting and saving the American dream because I don’t want our country to change,” she said. “Some people may not realize this because they never lived under communism, but I did.”

    Williams said she first became involved in politics while living in Colorado and fighting against President Barack Obama’s Common Core education program. She was originally a Republican, but briefly joined the Libertarian Party after feeling she had been abandoned by the party. She moved to New Hampshire about five years ago after being contacted by the Free State Project, a group that recruits libertarians to move to New Hampshire and make the state a stronghold of libertarian values. She rejoined the Republican Party before her move and said she was now not an active member of the Free State Project, but that the group’s members were “freedom lovers” and “not a threat.”

    She said one of her favorite parts of New Hampshire is the ability to buy homemade ice cream, as well as fresh vegetables and meat, at nearby farms.

    “I have supporters that I’ll go hand out signs and all of a sudden they say, ‘Hey, would you like to pick some vegetables from our garden?’ I just love it,” she said. “That’s why I feel like I really want to serve people. They will come in with open arms.”

    How does Williams feel about these issues?

    For Williams, inflation is the top priority: she wants to cut spending and criticizes the federal government for “printing money.”

    She also focuses on illegal immigration. As an immigrant herself, she said she knows how difficult it is to come here legally and become a citizen. Her brother waited 13 years in China for legal immigration.

    While most people who cross are “probably good people,” “you just don’t know,” she said.

    “We need to send a message that we will secure our border. If you want to come here to work, to work hard,” she said, “we welcome you and we will streamline the process for the legal immigrants.”

    Freedom of expression is also a very important issue for Williams. She believes the government is trying to censor speech on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, adding that she herself went to “Facebook prison” for opposing vaccination and mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic have pronounced. She said it should be up to American citizens to judge for themselves and make informed decisions.

    Williams said she does not support a federal abortion ban and wants abortion to remain a federal issue.

    Williams has supported former President Donald Trump and supports most of his policies.

    Although Williams ran in a blue-leaning district, she said her story of achieving the American dream after surviving communism and poverty resonated with people. She said she knows how to focus on common ground and build trusting relationships, regardless of party.

    “Constitution and liberty are my north stars, and I always put my principles above party and country above party,” Williams said. “I am very transparent. This is how I want to serve in Congress: dignity, integrity and transparency.”

    The election will take place on November 5th.

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    Idris Bevan
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