Colin Van Ostern, one of two Democratic candidates running to replace retiring Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, says his foreign policy doctrine places a heavy emphasis on “protecting democracy around the world,” arguing that what is happening overseas has “profound impacts within our own communities here in New Hampshire.”

“Part of the conversation that we’re having here on the ground with voters is not just about what’s happening overseas. It’s also about what we have to do here in the U.S. in order to strengthen our posture overseas, and part of that means supporting the jobs and industries and technologies here in New Hampshire and here in this country,” Van Ostern, 45, told Jewish Insider in an interview last week. “That ensures that we can be strong geopolitically and prevent some of the situations we’ve seen, like with semiconductors in Taiwan.”

“I believe that thread connects what’s happening in Ukraine, to what’s happening in the Middle East, to what’s happening in China and Southeast Asia and to what’s happening here at home. And so in each of those areas, I’ve been engaged in the discussion and debate and dealing with the reality of what it means in our own lives here in New Hampshire,” he explained. 

Van Ostern, a former member of the state’s Executive Council and Democrats’ 2016 gubernatorial nominee, is running against Maggie Goodlander, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Biden administration and the wife of White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, in the Democratic primary, which takes place on Sept. 10. 

Polls show Goodlander narrowly leading, but the contest is fluid. Kuster endorsed Van Ostern, who served as her campaign manager, and has aired ads amplifying her support.

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.” Goodlander worked on the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform effort while working for the late Sen. John McCain. The bill passed the Senate but was killed in the House. 

On Israel, both have expressed support for the war in Gaza and condemned Oct. 7, while still recognizing the suffering of Palestinians. They have the same stance on conditions on offensive military aid to Israel, with both candidates saying they support the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Israel as an effective mechanism for ensuring weapons and ammunition are being used in accordance with international law.

“I support both the 2016 MOU and also, I was an outspoken advocate for the foreign aid bill that ended up passing this past spring,” Van Ostern said. “I think that the aid that was approved this spring includes appropriate authorization for the administration to decide when and how to move forward with individual shipments of military aid. It’s important that the administration has that power, and I believe that that aid package was overdue and should have happened much, much sooner.”

Asked whether he supports Israel’s goal of fully eliminating Hamas in the aftermath of the terrorist group’s execution of six hostages, Van Ostern told JI by email that, “Hamas’ execution of hostages was absolutely horrific. I continue to support the goals of returning all the hostages home and eliminating Hamas. It is critical for the road to a two-state solution that Hamas be removed from operational control in Gaza and that its leaders be held accountable.”

Addressing the war in Gaza specifically, Van Ostern repeatedly noted Israel’s right to defend itself, secure the return of the remaining hostages and “remove Hamas from operational control” of the area to JI. However, he also said he supports U.S. leaders pointing out issues with how Israel prosecutes the war in an effort to “alleviate the humanitarian suffering that has been severe and profound over the course of the last 10 months.”

“It is a crisis. It’s extraordinarily difficult to deal with. I think we have to be eyes wide open to the fact that the terrorists of Hamas who perpetrated this attack on Oct. 7 often have not wanted this conflict to end, and often have done things like hide under hospitals to magnify the civilian impact of the war and the security operations. That said, there’s always an opportunity to do better and I think part of the relationship that comes between allies is the requirement to be honest and candid with our friends and allies when there are things that we see that they can do better,” he said. 

Van Ostern said the “permanent goal” to achieve peace in the region “continues to be and must be a two-state solution.” 

“I believe the two-state solution is the best, and maybe only way to have a lasting peace in Israel. When I say the thread that connects these different theaters is the one I’m standing up for, [which is] democracy, part of what I mean is that ensuring that the people of Palestine have democratic self-governance under a two-state solution is part of the way to prevent people from continuing to turn to terrorism, which has happened far, far too many times in recent years and is part of what prompted the attack from Hamas last October,” he explained.

Van Ostern co-authored an op-ed with David Tille, a former Trump administration official, about the importance of U.S. support remaining bipartisan for Ukraine in its war against Russia. He referenced it while explaining his support for the supplemental aid bill, which provided military assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. 

“There is much discussion, rightly so, on the effort to protect our democracy in our domestic politics in 2024. But protecting democracy is not a domestic issue alone. We must stand with Ukraine,” they wrote in the piece, published in March.

The winner of the Democratic primary is favored to win the general election. New Hampshire’s 2nd District backed President Joe Biden with 54% of the vote, and hasn’t elected a Republican since 2010.

(You can read JI’s interview with Van Ostern’s Democratic opponent Maggie Goodlander here.)

The primary race has turned negative in recent weeks. Over the summer, Van Ostern’s campaign had begun sending out mailers that attacked Goodlander’s record, questioned her ties to the state, and criticized her stance on reproductive rights. 

The mailers prompted negative reactions from two prominent state Democrats: former Gov. John Lynch and Gary Hirshberg, Van Ostern’s former boss and the ex-CEO of Stonyfield Farms, both of whom swapped their endorsements last weekend to instead back Goodlander. 

“I respect Colin, but I don’t respect his campaign,” Lynch said last week.

Hirschberg, whose wife Meg had already been supporting Goodlander, cut a video for the Goodlander campaign where he didn’t address Van Ostern.

“I know that Maggie will make us proud,” Hirshberg said in the video. 

Goodlander has also faced criticism over personal financial disclosure filings. A state representative filed an ethics complaint with the Justice Department accusing her of “actively trying to deceive the public about her finances” in her most recent financial disclosure filing to the Federal Election Commission, which has come under scrutiny for alleged omissions.

The issue came up during their most recent debate last Thursday, where Van Ostern criticized Goodlander for taking out-of-state PAC money.

“Maggie has taken, I think it’s about four times as much money from the D.C. area as she has from people here in New Hampshire,” Van Ostern said. “The way to be a great representative for people is not based on how close your connections are to people in power in Washington D.C., or how many years you’ve spent in the halls of power with the big special interests. I think it’s how you represent the people of New Hampshire.”

Goodlander defended her fundraising while not addressing the issue of filings. 

“I’m proud of the support we’ve gotten from all across the district, and I’m proud of the support I’ve gotten from my colleagues who I’ve worked with for my entire career in the Navy, at the Justice Department, at the White House … all across this country,” she said. “We’ve got to win this fall, and we’re going to need to raise the money, just as [Sen.] Maggie Hassan (D-NH) had to raise the money two years ago, so do we to keep this seat blue.”