WEST LEBANON, N.H. (WCAX) – Two Democrats are on the ballot for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District after fellow Democrat Annie Kuster announced she would not be running for a seventh term. Both candidates recently addressed public health issues during a forum at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
Medical Center CEO Joanne Conroy moderated the event which was more of a discussion than a debate. Both candidates told the audience that the high cost of housing is something they hear often on the campaign trail.
“Building out the workforce — it goes to how do you build a reliable pipeline in any area of public life — housing is at the center of it,” Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat for the U.S. House.
“Helping bring down the cost of new construction by providing infrastructure funds for new water and sewer, through providing first time home buy tax credits,” said Colin Van Ostern, a Democrat for the U.S. House.
Van Ostern is no stranger to the district or New Hampshire politics in general. The former Executive Council member ran unsuccessfully for governor and secretary of state.
Goodlander’s career has mostly been at the federal level, including time at the Department of Justice and most recently acting as a senior advisor on President Biden’s Unity Agenda. She says childhood hunger is an issue that both side can work together to address.
“Less than a third of our eligible fellow citizens are actually enrolled in SNAP, so I think a lot of work should be done to make sure we are fully enrolled in this state,” she said.
Van Ostern says breaking down the stigma associated with assistance is a necessary step. “And I think one of the reasons that folks don’t take up the eligibility for the state is because we have that stigma. One of the things that we can do is do a better job at providing free student lunches to all children,” he said.
The high cost of child care is another hot topic in this election cycle. Goodlander says programs like Head Start need to be protected. “These are programs that are cornerstone to the American dream that we have to bring back to a bipartisan center, and that is something that I will fight for with everything I’ve got,” she said.
Van Ostern says many public health concerns, from housing to child care, can be paid for by letting Trump-era tax cuts expire. “Expanding the child care tax credit is part of it. Numerous studies have shown that this is effectively the highest return on investment that the federal government spends on almost everything,” he said.
While the candidates agree on most issues, there is one contrast, according to Linda Fowler, a political science professor at Dartmouth College. “If Colin is elected, he is going to have to spend his first term as any lawmaker does — figuring out how to operate in Washington,” she said. Fowler says that is not the case with Goodlander. “She has the policy chops to really get involved deeply but she is going to have to spend a lot of time learning the district.”
Goodlander has received the endorsement of former New Hampshire Governor John Lynch. Van Ostern has been endorsed by Kuster.
REPUBLICANS FIELD 13 CANDIDATES FOR PRIMARY
On the GOP side, there are 13 names appearing on the ballot in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, and none of them are particularly well known, despite some having run for elected office in the past. They range from real estate agents to entrepreneurs. Dartmouth’s Fowler says that will pose a problem for voters at the ballot box.
“Primary elections are really tough for voters because they can’t use their party label to make a decision. So, being confronted with 13 candidates is really, really challenging for voters. Usually, there’s somebody who’s been a former office holder or somebody with some name recognition,” she said.
Fowler says it could lead to a fractured outcome with the winner possibly only receiving 25% of the vote. She also says a candidate with an intense following in one particular community could end up coming out on top.