CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Maggie Goodlander, a former senior White House aide and politically well-connected Democrat, announced Thursday that she is running for Congress in her home state of New Hampshire.
Ms. Goodlander, who is married to President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan, is a member of the House of Representatives, fellow Democrat Annie Kuster, who announced in March that she would not seek a seventh term in the state Legislature. He is the third Democratic lawmaker to join the race to replace him. 2nd Congressional District. At least five Republicans have also announced their candidacies to represent districts that stretch along the western half of the state and include Concord and Nashua.
Ms. Goodlander, 37, grew up in Nashua and recently moved back there from Washington, D.C., where she worked at the Justice Department as a top antitrust official and as an adviser to Attorney General Merrick Garland before moving to the White House Office of the Chief of Staff earlier this year. Ta. He previously served as an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserve and taught constitutional law at the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College.
“Right-wing judges, extreme politicians, and big corporations all have too much power,” she said in a campaign announcement video released Thursday. “I'm ready to fight the bullies. That's why I'm running for Congress.”
The video features Goodlander's mother, Betty Tamposi, who lost her seat in the 1988 Republican primary.
Goodlander, who was born after her parents stopped to vote on Election Day 1986 on their way to the hospital, spoke of her efforts to start a family. She lost her baby last year at nearly 20 weeks into her pregnancy, and she said her experience strengthened her resolve to fight for reproductive rights.
The White House confirmed Thursday that Goodlander is no longer employed there. Her husband, Sullivan, will abide by federal law that prohibits public servants from using their jobs for political purposes, said a White House official who was not authorized to discuss her record and requested anonymity.
Also running in the September 10 Democratic primary are former Governor's Executive Committee member Collin Van Ostern and state Sen. Becky Whitley. Republican candidates include Lily Tan Williams, who previously sought the Republican nomination, and Vikram Mansharamani, who is running for the Senate in 2022.
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Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.