Democrat Maggie Goodlander, a former Biden antitrust official, is bringing a message of fighting corporate power to New Hampshire’s notoriously prickly voters.
BOW, NEW HAMPSHIRE — The car alarm would not stop ringing. It was blaring from one of the 30 or so vehicles, mostly trucks, parked down the road from a house party in a small New Hampshire town, a few miles outside the state capital of Concord. Inside, visitors had gathered from across the state to listen to Maggie Goodlander, a Democratic congressional candidate running for New Hampshire’s open Second District seat, vacated by Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH).
Goodlander stood on the patio, delivering her stump speech to a packed crowd of state politicos, who were huddled in the backyard of the colonial-style house. Crimson and yellow leaves, the signature foliage of New England autumn, covered the trim grass, and boots clomped on fallen acorns.
Scores of presidential hopefuls have made this same trip to the very back patio Goodlander stood on that night, stumping during the state’s traditional early primary, which can make or break a candidate’s future. In 2019, just about every Democratic candidate in the crowded field visited this home on their trips, even long-shot contenders like Tulsi Gabbard. "We were happy to invite anyone as long as they were willing to get grilled," Mary Beth Walz, one of the hosts and a former state representative, told me with a grin.
After a brief lull, the car alarm had started up again to audible groans from the audience, just as Goodlander was getting into the swing of things. The crowd was now more preoccupied with hunting around for the culprit than they were following the speech. The moment tested whether Goodlander could go off-script. Finally, she broke the fourth wall.
Mid-sentence, she blurted out, "And I bet you there’s even a monopoly on those car horns out there. My God." The audience laughed, relieved more than anything.
"I wouldn’t be surprised. You know there’s even a monopoly on door locks. They’re just everywhere, I’m telling you."
THIS WASN’T A TOTAL TANGENT FOR GOODLANDER, who more than any other congressional candidate running in a swing district this election is making trust-busting a fixture of her campaign. As her off-the-cuff remark demonstrated, this is a policy area she’s become deeply immersed in.
Moments before, she’d been discussing her time inside the Biden administration, where she served in a variety of roles, but most recently at the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. There, she helped bring far-reaching cases against corporate goliaths, from pharma to meatpackers to technology companies.
Now, as a candidate, she’s trying to connect this to the everyday concerns of residents of the Granite State.
The American Prospect, Inc., 1225 I Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC xxxxxx, United States Copyright (c) 2024 The American Prospect. All rights reserved.
To opt out of American Prospect membership messaging, click here.
To manage your newsletter preferences, click here.
To unsubscribe from all American Prospect emails, including newsletters, click here.
