Bitter New Hampshire House primary splits Democratic power brokers

Voters in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday will select a new member of Congress this fall for the first time in 12 years, a prospect that has led to a contentious and expensive primary between influential Democrats.

Former New Hampshire Executive Councilor Colin van Ostern and former Department of Justice Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maggie Goodlander are squaring off in the Democratic primary to replace six-term Rep. Annie Kuster, who is retiring.

Van Ostern jumped into the race first, quickly earning Kuster’s endorsement. But his straight shot to the Democratic nomination in a district rated “likely Democratic” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, was stifled when Goodlander, a longtime congressional and legal staffer in Washington, launched her campaign in May.

Goodlander, who is originally from New Hampshire and is married to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, has surged since launching her campaign in May, earning support from EMILY’s List and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Tensions have heightened in the closing weeks of the race, with money flowing in and one high-profile Van Ostern backer — former Gov. John Lynch — switching his support to Goodlander.

Van Ostern still touts endorsements from several high-profile New Hampshire leaders, including two former state Democratic Party chairs — Kathy Sullivan and Ned Helms — and former statewide elected officials, such as former state Attorney General Joe Foster and former state Senate President Sylvia Larsen.

Focus on reproductive rights

Goodlander and Van Ostern have particularly sharpened their attacks against each other over reproductive rights.

“Access to health care and access to reproductive rights have been central issues to me for the last 15-plus years of my life,” Van Ostern told NBC News, touting his work funding Planned Parenthood while on the New Hampshire Executive Council.

“I think that New Hampshire voters know how to judge somebody on their actions, not just their words,” he added.

Asked to respond, Goodlander told NBC News: “My opponent’s core attack against me is an attack on my commitment to reproductive freedom, and he’s made this attack even though he knows my professional record.”

On the trail, Goodlander has highlighted her work clerking for former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and her work at the Justice Department in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

In her campaign ads and videos, Goodlander has also shared her personal experience seeking emergency reproductive care, telling voters in one TV ad, “I’ve fought my own painful battles. When I was 20 weeks pregnant, [my husband] and I lost our son.” 

“He knows all of this, but nevertheless, he’s attacked my commitment to reproductive freedom,” Goodlander told NBC News.

Each candidate has also criticized the other for working with Republicans, including some who opposed abortion rights.

At a debate hosted by WMUR last week, Van Ostern attacked Goodlander on health care, telling viewers that “when you give thousands of dollars to Republicans or spend years of your life working for Republicans … that is a problem.”

He was referencing Goodlander’s previous work for the late Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain and her donations to two GOP congressional candidates in the 2020 campaign cycle: former Rep. Justin Amash, who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump, and Dan Driscoll, Goodlander’s former law school classmate.

In her rebuttal, Goodlander told him, “Colin, you were the spokesman for an anti-choice congressman. I am not questioning your commitment to reproductive freedom and how dare you question mine.”

Her rebuttal referenced former Texas Democratic Rep. Jim Turner, whom Van Ostern worked for in the early 2000s.

Goodlander echoed her remarks in an interview with NBC News, saying that “it’s just dead wrong, dishonest and frankly, disgraceful that he’s attacking [my commitment to reproductive rights].”

An unusually expensive race

Van Ostern has also gone after Goodlander for her support from super PACs and out-of-state campaign donors.

Since Goodlander jumped into the race in May, the campaigns and outside groups have spent more than $3.5 million on digital, radio and TV campaign ads in the Democratic primary, according to AdImpact.

The amount of outside money spent in this district’s primary is “one of the defining issues of the race,” Van Ostern told NBC News, adding that the goal of the money spent “is to confuse people, but we’re not going to let powerful out of state dark money groups try to buy an election here.” 

One of the biggest spenders is Vote Vets, a Democratic group that seeks to elect veterans to Congress. The organization has spent over $900,000 on ads backing Goodlander, per AdImpact, an ad tracking firm.

“These aren’t dark money groups. These are groups supporting an effort to elect more pro-choice women to Congress at a time when less than 30% of Congress is women … and these are veterans groups,” Goodlander said, adding, “I’ve had the strong support of veterans across New Hampshire and across the country, including from Vote Vets.”

The heightened rhetoric in the race has led to at least one high-profile Van Ostern endorser jumping ship. Lynch, the former governor who endorsed Van Ostern early on, opted to back Goodlander instead.

“I respect Colin, but I don’t respect his campaign,” Lynch said when he announced his decision to endorse Goodlander.

“I became increasingly upset at the kind of campaign that Colin was running. I think it was sort of the tension and the nastiness that kept escalating that caused me to withdraw my support for Colin,” he added.