At a Democratic candidate forum Monday evening at Dartmouth, Maggie Goodlander and Colin Van Ostern tackled issues, told stories, and each made the case for why they’re the best person to represent New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.

Goodlander argued her Washington experience—as an intelligence officer with the U.S. Navy Reserve, as counsel for the first impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, and as deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Justice Department—would give her a leg up when serving in Congress. 

“On day one, I’m ready to hit the ground running out of the gate, to deliver for this district, to deliver for our state, and to deliver for our country,” she said.

Van Ostern talked about the connections he’s made during his time in business and politics—he served two terms on the state’s Executive Council and worked for Stonyfield Farm—and how they’ve helped him understand the issues facing the state.

“Being an elected official isn’t about being the smartest person in the room,” he said. “It’s about being a good listener and raising up the voices of other people. That’s how you make a difference.”

The forum was sponsored by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, the Dartmouth Democrats, and the Hanover/Lyme Town Democrats. More than 130 people gathered in Filene Auditorium to hear the candidates speak, with additional viewers tuning in online. 

Both candidates have ties to Dartmouth. Van Ostern earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business, while Goodlander taught a class in constitutional law at Dartmouth last summer. 

Democrat and Dartmouth grad Ann McLane Kuster ’78, who currently holds the seat sought by Goodlander and Van Ostern, is stepping down after six terms in Congress. Earlier this year, Kuster endorsed Van Ostern to succeed her.

Though they’re competing to win the Sept. 10 Democratic primary, Goodlander and Van Ostern often found themselves in agreement. Both argued for enshrining reproductive rights into law following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“Every single day in this country, women are denied care and doctors are unable to provide that care,” Goodlander said. “This is wrong. This is not America.”

Van Ostern noted that the loss of funding for Planned Parenthood was what spurred him to run for the Executive Council. 

“Our Congress exists to put our national values into law,” he said. “We need to pass a national law that protects the full range of reproductive rights.”

Both candidates also decried the epidemic of gun violence that’s had such an impact on young people.

Van Ostern choked up when recalling an active shooter situation in Concord, where his family lives, while his son was walking home from school. His son was safe, but speaking as a parent and a gun owner, Van Ostern called for universal background checks and banning assault weapons. 

“There’s nothing contradictory about supporting the Second Amendment and also ensuring that we have basic gun violence prevention measures in our country,” he said.

Goodlander promised to take on the gun industry, to fund mental health efforts to prevent future gun deaths, and to ban assault weapons.

“I know from my time in the Navy that there is no place for these weapons of war in our communities,” Goodlander said.

While domestic issues dominated the evening’s discussion, the candidates did weigh in on Israel and Gaza. 

“We desperately need a two-state solution,” Van Ostern said. “This is the way to break the cycle of violence that we have in Israel.”

Goodlander pointed out that Congress has an important role to play in foreign policy, and she supports a deal that includes an immediate ceasefire, a surge of humanitarian assistance, and the return of Israeli hostages. 

“The level of human suffering is devastating,” she said.

The candidates said they hear a lot about the state’s housing crisis when talking to voters. Goodlander pledged to coordinate government efforts to speed up new construction while fighting big corporations buying up housing stock. Van Ostern hoped to use expiring tax cuts for the wealthy to fund first-time homebuyer tax credits.

Goodlander and Van Ostern both supported updating immigration laws to improve border security and to modernize a pathway for people who want to live and work in this country.

“This makes our state of New Hampshire stronger,” Van Ostern said. “If we can get it done, it makes our country stronger.”

When asked about bills targeting trans youth, notably around sports, Van Ostern suggested that kids already have the answer.

“They know that we need to include everybody,” he said.

Goodlander linked these efforts to a broader push to impose personal restrictions, which she feels goes against New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” motto.

“It’s an attack on our ability to control and have freedom over our own bodies,” Goodlander said. “But it’s a deeper attack on freedom to be who we are, to read the books that we want to read, to teach the books that we want to teach.”

Quinn Allred ’26 and Lucy Vitali ’26, the executive director and director of communications for Dartmouth Democrats, moderated the evening’s discussion.

Allred appreciated the candidate’s willingness to wrestle with tough questions, while Vitali liked how they addressed issues that concerned voters her age.

“It means so much to be able to learn more about these candidates and really hear their answers on a lot of issues that are especially important to students,” Vitali said.

A forum for Republican candidates is set for Aug. 19.