Maggie Goodlander, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Biden administration now running to replace retiring Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH), says she wants to “find a way to build back the bipartisan super majority that has been so important to American foreign policy” if she’s elected to Congress. 

Polls show Goodlander narrowly leading in the Democratic primary against Colin Van Ostern, the Democrats’ 2016 gubernatorial nominee and a former member of the state’s Executive Council. Kuster has endorsed Van Ostern, her former campaign manager, and has appeared in several of his campaign ads. The primary is taking place September 10.

“I know from my own experience the critical role that Congress plays in American foreign policy,” Goodlander told Jewish Insider in an interview last week. “What used to be a strong, bipartisan, bicameral supermajority of members working together on these issues, as we’ve seen across all areas … a real fragmentation. My goal would be to find a way to build back the bipartisan super majority that has been so important to American foreign policy and the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

“I think partisanship has often stopped at the water’s edge when it comes to foreign policy and national security, and I believe that that is incredibly important,” she added.

Goodlander is married to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, whom she met at the annual Munich Security Conference during the Obama administration. He was working for then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the time, while she was working for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). 

Goodlander has a lengthy resume working for both Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Most recently, she served as a senior advisor at the White House, leading Biden’s “Unity Agenda” before announcing her bid for Kuster’s seat in May. For the three years prior, she served as deputy assistant attorney general of the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department. 

She clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer; she also clerked for Attorney General Merrick Garland when he was chief judge of the D.C. Circuit Court. Goodlander served as counsel to House Judiciary Committee Democrats during their first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, and as a senior adviser to the late Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lieberman, both of whom were stalwart pro-Israel lawmakers. She spent over ten years as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve. 

While Goodlander is a Democrat, she hails from a successful and politically active family in Republican politics in New Hampshire. Her mother, Betty Tamposi, served in President George H.W. Bush’s administration and was a GOP legislator in the New Hampshire state House. Her grandfather, Samuel Tamposi, was a longtime GOP activist and a successful real estate developer. He was also a part owner of the Boston Red Sox. 

Goodlander’s campaign against Van Ostern has gotten heated. Kuster, who endorsed Van Ostern, recently cut an ad slamming Goodlander as an out-of-stater who has given money to Republican candidates. “Let’s send New Hampshire candidates to Washington, not the other way around,” Kuster says in the spot.

A spot aired by a pro-Goodlander group attacks Van Ostern’s business record, and his having taken corporate PAC money. 

Despite the negative attack ads, Goodlander and Van Ostern don’t have many policy differences. They both support federal abortion protections but differ on the best path forward for addressing illegal immigration: Van Ostern supports comprehensive immigration reform that ensures both border security and a pathway to citizenship, while Goodlander has pointed to her work on a failed bipartisan immigration reform bill that “sometimes comprehensive can be the enemy of progress. 

Both expressed support for Israel but have recognized the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. They have also both recognized and denounced the rise of domestic antisemitism since Oct. 7.

Goodlander opposes placing additional conditions on offensive military aid to Israel, something she defended while pointing to her foreign policy experience. 

“I think that the memorandum of understanding that was negotiated during the Obama administration is the right approach. We’ve seen the real importance of the Iron Dome and other defense capabilities that Congress has helped make possible to give Israel its defense and qualitative military edge. I saw this in my work. I served 11 years as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve,” she said. “I saw the importance of the defense and intelligence cooperation. I saw the important role the Congress plays in that relationship too, so I’ve seen it from two of the three branches.”

She also defended Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, noting that the country is facing a security threat that must be addressed. “Oct. 7 was the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. It’s an unimaginably difficult situation in which Israel finds itself. Your question is, how has Israel done in prosecuting the war? I’d start by saying that war is hell, and we’re seeing that every day on display,” Goodlander said.

“I confess I don’t have the latest on where things stand. I know that [cease-fire] negotiations are underway as we speak. It’s a very fluid situation, but I believe in the short term that the framework that folks are working really hard right now to bring into being is really an important first initial step to ensure the return of the hostages who have been kept in brutal captivity since Oct. 7, and to deliver urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and innocent Palestinian civilians,” the New Hampshire native said. 

Goodlander avoided going into detail about her husband’s work or how she thought the Biden administration had done at handling the crisis in the Middle East, instead defending their work toward a cessation of hostilities in the region. 

“I think really hard working people across the executive branch are working really hard every day in a really complex and as you say, fluid environment. What I see is hard-working people doing their absolute best every day,” she said. 

The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to win the general election. New Hampshire’s Second District backed President Joe Biden with 54% of the vote, and hasn’t elected a Republican since 2010.