Hopkinton State Senator Forms Exploratory Committee For 2nd Congressional District Race

CONCORD, NH — Concord’s state Senator, who lives in Hopkinton and also represents Bow, has formed a committee to explore a run for Congress.

State Sen. Becky Whitley, who is in the middle of her second term, announced the formation of the committee Wednesday, saying the seat, being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, deserved “a proven and effective leader who will never stop fighting to protect reproductive freedom, to preserve our democracy, and to lower costs for hard-working families.” Whitley said she brought her “lived experience as a working parent in the state Senate.”

Since her name was floated as a possible candidate, she has been “humbled by the outpouring of encouragement” to bring her “solutions-oriented approach to D.C.,” she said.

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“I know that while the Granite State is full of possibility, hope, and courage, we face clear and pressing challenges,” Whitley said. “But I don’t just talk about solutions for New Hampshire — I have a history of delivering actual results. I’ve sponsored and cosponsored legislation to protect the right to abortion, to support new moms and working parents, and to address our urgent childcare and housing crises.”

Whitley attended George Washington University, earning a business administration degree, and went to the Vermont Law School. She is a disability rights attorney. Whitley did not give a timeline on when she would fully decide on a run.

Van Ostern Raises $325K

On Tuesday, Colin Van Ostern, the first Democrat out of the gate to announce a run for the 2nd Congressional District seat after Kuster’s announcement, reported raising $325,000 in the first four days of his campaign.

The campaign said the donations showed an “outpouring of grassroots support,” noting many of them came after the candidate announced support of a national law protecting IVF, birth control, and abortion access.

“Washington is broken and Granite Staters are ready for a leader that will put the needs of our community front and center,” Van Ostern said. “I’m in this race because I won’t let Donald Trump and extreme Republicans drag our country down; I’m committed to protecting our democracy, defending a woman’s right to choose, and lowering costs for families — the cost of healthcare, housing and higher education.”

Van Ostern did not offer specifics on the national law in a press statement or on his website.

Another Possible Candidate Lives In 1st CD

The Boston Globe reported Tuesday Maggie Goodlander, an attorney and the wife of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, is also considering a run.

Goodlander went to Yale and clerked for Merrick Garland and Stephen Breyer. She was deputy assistant attorney general until around February and also worked for the late Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-CT, and the late U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-CA, the father-in-law of former U.S. Rep. Dick Swett, who held the 2nd Congressional District seat in the 1990s, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Goodlander, however, is registered to vote in Portsmouth, where she and Sullivan own a home, which is in the 1st Congressional District, which means she would or could easily be labeled a carpetbagger.

Other GOP Candidates Consider Runs

Five Republican candidates were already in the race before Kuster’s announcement: Lily Tang Williams, Mark Kilbane, Robin Ng, Jason Riddle — a Jan. 6 protester who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, and Paul Wagner.

However, the NH Journal reported this week that more Republicans are looking at the race, including former Hillsborough County treasurer Bob Burns and former Keene Mayor George Hansel, who both ran with Williams in 2022. Hanover businessman William Hamlen, a former commodities trader and a real estate investor, is considering a run, according to the report. State Rep. Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, state Sen. Carrie Gendreau, R-Littleton, and businessman Vikram Mansharamani, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2022, but has been actively blogging on Substack since the Senate race, have also seen their names floated as potential candidates.

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