Goodlander passes on U.S. Senate campaign
Newly elected U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., has decided against a primary run for an open U.S. Senate seat and instead will seek a second term in the 2nd Congressional District in 2026.
The move is a huge political gift to fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who has already announced he's running to try to succeed the retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, also a Democrat.
The decision by Goodlander, 38, means Pappas will likely not face a hotly competitive primary fight.
The move means two of the four strongest candidates on paper for this seat are not running. Goodlander's announcement follows the decision of former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who took himself out of contention earlier this month.
Former Republican Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who lost to Shaheen for the same seat by three points in 2014, is edging ever closer to mounting what would be his fourth Senate race in the two states.
The New Hampshire Union Leader first reported Goodlander's news on X after her team contacted prominent Democrats, including Pappas, to let them know of her decision.
She gave her first interview about the decision to WMUR after she visited a senior housing complex in Salem Thursday afternoon.
"I feel humbled and grateful to so many people across our state who have encouraged me to take a look at the United States Senate, and after a lot of thought and conversations with people I love and people I respect, and people who I had never met before, who I work for in this role right now, I've decided that I'm running for re-election in the House of Representatives," Goodlander said in a statement.
Even members of Goodlander's family had urged her not to abandon the seat she had only filled three months ago to try and take on Pappas, a four-term incumbent who has been active in New Hampshire politics for nearly 30 years.
They point out by staying, Goodlander, if she wins next year, would be the senior member of the House delegation who might claim a House subcommittee chairmanship should the Democrats seize control of that narrowly held Republican body in the midterm election.
The move also sets up Goodlander as the near-certain, Democratic front-runner once New Hampshire's other U.S. senator, Maggie Hassan, 67, decides to retire from her political career.
Goodlander's pedigree includes clerking for a U.S. Supreme Court justice, serving as House counsel in the U.S. House's first impeachment of President Donald Trump, working as an aide to both the late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and Connecticut Democratic Sen. and vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman, serving in the Justice Department and then working in the Biden White House as an adviser on special projects.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, campaigned for her in person last fall and after her victory made sure the freshman representative got a plum seat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Goodlander served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy reserves for 11 years.
Her brief political profile has been marked by keeping her own counsel and this decision was no different.
Her congressional office did not respond to a request for comment on her decision and she didn't post her own announcement on any of her social media accounts Thursday.
This was just how she behaved in 2024 when Goodlander suddenly stunned the political establishment by announcing she would seek the 2nd District seat even though she didn't live there.
Goodlander grew up in Nashua, the daughter of former George H. Bush State Department aide Betty Tamposi and local developer Ted Goodlander.
After her marriage to Jake Sullivan, who later became Biden's national security adviser, the couple bought a seven-figure home in Portsmouth, at the furthest end of the 1st Congressional District.
Goodlander rented a home to run in her hometown and then routed former Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern, who had raised an early nest egg and landed the endorsement of retiring, six-term Congresswoman Annie Kuster.
'New Hampshire Democrats look forward to supporting Congresswoman Goodlander as she continues her critical work in Congress. Congresswoman Goodlander is fighting back against Donald Trump's disastrous agenda, working to lower costs for families, and delivering real results for people across New Hampshire,' Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley said in a statement.
'Granite Staters in the Second Congressional District have rejected radical Republicans like Lily Tang Williams time and time again, and no matter who enters the Republican primary over the next year, Granite Staters will reject them and Trump's costly and unpopular agenda in 2026.'
Last week, Tang Williams, an émigré from Communist China and a former college professor, declared she'd seek the seat a third time, having lost to Goodlander last November.
'I understand freedom & regular people's sufferings/concerns because of my humble background of surviving poverty & tyranny under communism. I will fight for the people,' Tang Williams said.
Pappas issued his own statement praising Goodlander's service.
"Maggie Goodlander has dedicated her career to service, and we can always count on her to stand up to powerful interests and put people first," Pappas said. "I'm so grateful to call her my friend and teammate, and I'm proud to support her re-election and stand with her in the fights ahead."
Goodlander has said their families came from the same part of northern Greece a century ago and said she's proud to support Pappas him in the Senate race.
Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said voters will decide Pappas is too liberal to deserve this big step up.
'Chris Pappas is a radical leftist who voted to raise taxes on New Hampshire's hardworking families, wants biological males competing in women's sports, and supports dangerous sanctuary city policies that protect violent illegal immigrants," Puglia said. "Granite Staters deserve common sense — and Chris Pappas is anything but.'
The decision perhaps shuts the door on possible advancement for some up-and-coming Democrats who would have likely run for the seat had Goodlander sought the Senate seat.
Former Executive Councilor and 2024 candidate for governor Cinde Warmington of Concord and Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, had already been making the rounds at events in the 2nd District, preparing to run if the seat became open.
In the 1st District, former Obama administration official Maura Sullivan of Portsmouth has announced, already raised $400,000 and attracted the backing of some progressive interest groups.
She finished second to Pappas in his first primary bid for the seat in 2018 that attracted an 11-person field.
Stefany Shaheen of Portsmouth, the former city councilor and eldest daughter of Sen. Shaheen, confirmed many people are encouraging her to run and she's thinking about it.
Republican Chris Bright of Derry is preparing to run as he did in 2014 when he finished fourth in the primary that former Executive Councilor Russell Prescott of Kingston won.
Manchester Aldermanic President Joe Kelly Levasseur finished third in that primary and is also getting encouragement to jump back into this race.
klandrigan@unionleader.com
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