On the trail: Goodlander, Van Ostern spotlight fundraising in race to succeed Kuster

Democratic candidates for the 2nd Congressional District Maggie Goodlander and Colin Van Ostern following a debate on the New Hampshire Today Show, Friday, June 7, 2024.

Democratic candidates for the 2nd Congressional District Maggie Goodlander and Colin Van Ostern following a debate on the New Hampshire Today Show, Friday, June 7, 2024. NEW HAMPSHIRE TODAY SHOW

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Kelly Ayotte met with voters in Londonderry on July 2. Photo by Paul Steinhauser.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Kelly Ayotte met with voters in Londonderry on July 2. Photo by Paul Steinhauser. —Paul Steinhauser/For the Monitor

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Kelly Ayotte met with voters in Londonderry on July 2. Photo by Paul Steinhauser.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Kelly Ayotte met with voters in Londonderry on July 2. Photo by Paul Steinhauser. Paul Steinhauser / For the Monitor

By PAUL STEINHAUSER

For the Valley News

Published: 07-09-2024 5:01 PM

Modified: 07-09-2024 7:31 PM


Retiring six-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster was long known on the campaign trail for her fundraising prowess.

And Colin Van Ostern and Maggie Goodlander, the two candidates running for the Democratic Party nomination in New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District in the 2024 race to succeed Kuster are following in her footsteps when it comes to fundraising.

Goodlander, the wife of National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and a former top lawyer in Biden’s administration who served as a deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department is spotlighting “record-setting” fundraising.

Goodlander announced this week that she hauled in $1.55 million dollars from the launch of her campaign on May 9 through the end of June, which brought to a close the second quarter of 2024 fundraising.

A release from her campaign touted that Goodlander didn’t take “a dime of corporate PAC money” and that “her fundraising contributions come from across the Second District and in every county in New Hampshire.”

While not as well known nationally as her high-profile husband, Goodlander hails from a prominent New Hampshire family.

Her grandfather, Sam Tamposi, was a major player in state Republican politics. Her mother, Betty Tamposi, ran for the House in 1988 in the Second Congressional District but lost in the GOP primary.

And thanks to her and her husband’s connections to prominent national Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, raising money was never considered a major concern for Goodlander.

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“New Hampshire made me who I am today, and I’m incredibly grateful to every person who has joined us in our campaign in our first 52 days,” Goodlander said in a statement. “Over the next 70 days I’ll work my heart out every single day to meet and earn the support of as many voters in the Second District as I can.”

A day before Goodlander showcased her fundraising, Van Ostern announced that he had hauled in just over a million dollars from his launch on March 28 through the end of last month.

A release from Van Ostern, who served two-terms on New Hampshire’s Executive Council before winning the 2016 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, spotlighted “roughly 68% of all contributions come from New Hampshire, representing donations from 191 different New Hampshire communities. Roughly 70% of all contributions were under $200.”

And Van Ostern’s campaign also highlighted that “none of his contributions came from corporate PACs.”

Apparently pointing to Goodlander and her allies, Van Ostern’s campaign argued that “we expect to be outspent by millions in out-of-state dollars and Washington money in this primary, but we will not let special interests or out-of-state donors buy a congressional seat in New Hampshire.”

Prominent GOP senator teams up with Ayotte

One of former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte’s many Republican friends she made during her six years representing New Hampshire on Capitol Hill joined the front-runner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination this week on the Granite State campaign trail.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, an Army veteran who served in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars before becoming a rising star in GOP politics, teamed up with Ayotte for two stops in Londonderry on Tuesday, ahead of the July 4th Independence Day holiday.

The two former colleagues who served together on the Senate Armed Services Committee paid a visit to Mr. Steer Meats, a four-generation old family-owned butcher shop in Londonderry, before heading up Mammoth Road a couple of miles to speak at a veterans event at American Legion Post 27.

“Kelly and I started together in the Senate. And our loss in the Senate is going to be New Hampshire’s gain. She’s going to be a great governor. She’s going to make sure the live free or die state remains true to itself,” Cotton told this reporter.

Ayotte, who’s likely to have plenty of high-profile friends joining her as she seeks to succeed retiring four-term GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, emphasized “I’m glad to have him here campaigning with me for governor.”

And Ayotte once again took aim at Democrat-dominated Massachusetts, emphasizing that “I want to make sure New Hampshire remains safe, prosperous, and free, and that we do keep that New Hampshire advantage and don’t become like our southern neighbor Massachusetts.”

Ayotte added “I’d love to have Tom back. He’s been here many times in New Hampshire. People in New Hampshire really like and appreciate Tom.”

Cotton is no stranger to New Hampshire. He made two stops in the state in 2020 on behalf of then-President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. And he was a frequent visitor in 2021 and 2022 to campaign on behalf of Republicans running in the midterm elections and to test the waters on a possible 2024 White House bid.

The senator, who turned 47 in May, announced just ahead of the 2022 midterms that he wouldn’t run for president in 2024, but didn’t rule out a White House bid in the future.

Cotton reiterated that he “didn’t necessarily close the book” on a presidential campaign in 2028 or beyond.

The senator is also on a short list of Republicans under consideration as Trump’s running mate as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee gets ready to name them.

Cotton said he speaks to Trump and his team “pretty regularly about the campaign and that we’re doing everything we can to set him up for success.”

But he noted that “we haven’t talked about the vice presidential choice.”