Maggie Goodlander, a former senior adviser in the Biden White House and newly declared Democratic House candidate in New Hampshire’s 2nd District, proudly proclaimed upon launching her bid that she’s a renter “and there should be more renters in Congress.”
It’s a fair point. As of 2020, half the members across both chambers were millionaires, and Congress is far more likely to have homeowners among its ranks than the general U.S. population.
But Goodlander—who is also White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s wife—is herself a homeowner, a Daily Beast review of property records found. The couple own a home worth more than $1.2 million in a historic and pricey seaside neighborhood in Portsmouth, which sits in the state’s other district.
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Goodlander also touted some local roots in her announcement. While she said she recently signed a lease to rent a home in her hometown of Nashua, she hasn’t lived in the city in more than 15 years. She touted Nashua as her family’s home “for over 100 years,” but her parents sold the property in 2008.
“Frankly, the more you see candidates try to emphasize how deep their roots go, the more questions it raises over why do you have to do that?” a senior New Hampshire Democratic operative told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about one of the hottest topics among the state’s political insiders.
The operative continued, “Why are you so focused on how you were born here as opposed to what you’ve been doing here?”
Voting records also show Goodlander hasn’t voted in the district since that same year, when Barack Obama was elected to the presidency, and her only two votes were both absentee.
“Nobody says it out loud,” a high-ranking New Hampshire Democratic adviser and donor bundler told The Daily Beast, also requesting anonymity to share private conversations. “She didn’t live in that district, and if that isn’t the definition of carpetbagger—that’s kind of harsh, but it doesn’t sit right with me.”
Despite Goodlander’s well-intentioned point on renters—and only being required under state law to live in New Hampshire, not the district—her entrance into one of the hottest congressional races this cycle has already ruffled some feathers. Among New Hampshire’s political elite, she’s stumbled in private meetings and left some power players wondering if they’ll have to endorse her anyway because of her Biden ties, two Democrats familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast.
The well-connected Bidenworld alumna’s arrival has also reinvigorated the age-old debate of what constitutes a so-called carpetbagger, and a particular New Hampshire cultural quirk.
Who, exactly, gets to call themselves a true Granite Stater in a state where over half the residents are transplants, especially with residents’ tradition of one-upping their neighbors with how far back their state lineage goes?
To mount a competitive statewide or congressional bid, “I don’t think it’s ever been essential that someone is born and raised in New Hampshire,” the Democratic operative said. “I think the question is how active you’ve been in the community, and a lot of what you see from elected officials in New Hampshire is an extension of community service.”
“That’s really the biggest hurdle on her front,” the operative added.
The New Hampshire donor bundler said Goodlander has received some critiques following private meetings over being a “name dropper,” specifically around her tendency to mention her past work for Attorney General Merrick Garland as a deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s antitrust division.
“People were almost like, so what?” said the donor bundler, who has not settled on a candidate to support in the three-way Democratic primary. “Working, slogging as a state rep or slogging as a state senator is just as—and maybe even more important—because they're working on behalf of the actual state and Granite Staters.”
Although Goodlander may not have made the best first impression as the splashy candidate to enter the race, she also has some key New Hampshire bigwigs going to bat for her—even if they haven’t endorsed yet.
“I don’t think anyone will hold it against her, because we all travel around,” Billy Shaheen, a longtime New Hampshire power broker and the husband of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) told The Daily Beast. “We’re all kind of transient, so I don’t think it looks like she’s a carpetbagger.”
Her Democratic opponents in the Sept. 10 primary, Colin Van Ostern and Becky Whitley, do not have the same connections to the Biden administration. The president’s allies could be even more influential in an election year where New Hampshire and its four electoral votes could prove pivotal as a swing state.
Democrats are also keeping a close eye on the district, with the departure of Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) providing Republicans with one of their top pickup opportunities in their efforts to hold the House. Kuster swiftly endorsed Van Ostern, who lost his previous races for governor in 2016 and secretary of state in 2018, when he lost by just four votes after coming short by just one on the first round of voting in the state legislature.
“When Rep. Kuster, who has served this district well, retired very late in the process and then almost immediately turned around and endorsed [Van Ostern], that ruffled a lot of feathers,” a Goodlander adviser told The Daily Beast. “Maggie is a Granite Stater. Like in her bones, she’s a Granite Stater. She sounds like it. She looks like it… So when it comes to where she’d serve, this is a no-brainer.”
State Sen. Cindy Rosenwald of Nashua said she’s known Goodlander “for nearly 30 years. I can tell you she is working overtime and then some to connect with Granite Staters—she was just in my living room listening to and answering questions from voters for more than an hour and a half.”
Shaheen, who touted the candidate’s Republican grandfather (the late real estate developer and GOP activist Sam Tamposi) as “Mr. Nashua” and “an excellent man and businessman,” said he doesn’t think Goodlander will have an unfair advantage.
“None of ’em automatically get a pass because of what they’ve done in the past. It’s what they do now, and what argument they lay out to the people as to why they should be that person,” Shaheen said.
Plus, he argued, as far as politically connected husbands go, hers isn’t exactly the most available to come in and help out on the trail.
“I don’t think Jake Sullivan has any time to campaign for his wife,” Shaheen said. “He’s working hard to get us peace in the Middle East.”
