The new member: Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.)
How they got here: Goodlander dispatched Republican Lily Tang Williams, who previously ran for Congress from Colorado, 53 percent to 47 percent.
Inside the campaign: Goodlander survived a brutal Democratic primary over Colin Van Ostern, the 2016 Democratic governor nominee in New Hampshire and the pick of retiring Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.), to become her party’s standard bearer for this purple seat.
Goodlander, a veteran of multiple Washington institutions who is married to President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, centered her campaign around a vow to be a “workhorse” in Washington. “Whether you voted for me or not, if I have the honor of representing you, I will work for you — all of you — in the people’s house,” she said at her election night victory celebration.
The issues she’ll focus on: Goodlander highlighted a highly personal story of giving birth to a stillborn son throughout her time on the trail, making protecting access to reproductive health care a central part of her campaign.
She’s also vowed to fight for health care, tax reform, and housing access — and to take on corporate monopolies.
Background: She’s held a wide variety of visible roles in Washington, including a Supreme Court clerk stint, a job as an attorney with the Department of Justice and time as a Biden White House aide. Earlier in her tenure, Goodlander served as a Capitol Hill aide to then-Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.).
In addition, Goodlander served as an aide for the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment trial against President Donald Trump, authoring a 55-page report outlining the constitutional grounds for impeaching the president. (She’ll join a fellow impeachment trial lawyer, New York Democrat Dan Goldman, as a member of Congress.)
Campaign ad that caught our eye: Goodlander released an ad touting her efforts to work with Democrats and Republicans on a variety of issues.
Fun fact: Her bipartisan bona fides are quite personal — Goodlander’s grandfather, Samuel Tamposi, was a Republican megadonor and partial owner of the Boston Red Sox. Her mother, Betty Tamposi, was a GOP member of the state House of Representatives and an aide to then-President George H.W. Bush.
We’re spotlighting new members during the transition. Want more? Meet Sen. Tim Sheehy.
