Centrist Independent Voter endorses Representative Maggie Goodlander in the September 8 Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.
Goodlander has served in Congress only since January 2025, but she has already established herself as a serious, institutionally minded and generally pragmatic member of the Democratic caucus. Her background includes service as a Navy Reserve intelligence officer, constitutional-law professor, Justice Department official and adviser to Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman.
She has also signed the Promise to America, joining Democrats who explicitly support capitalism, secure borders, fiscal responsibility, effective government, free speech, political persuasion and continued American leadership in the world. Signing a pledge is not enough to justify an endorsement, but Goodlander’s congressional record suggests those commitments are more than rhetorical.
She helped lead the bipartisan Stop Secret Spending Act and has supported stronger Pentagon auditing, restrictions on stock trading by senior government officials, more transparent defense contracting and a permanent Office of Congressional Ethics.
CIVPAC considers fiscal responsibility one of the country’s most neglected obligations. Goodlander has participated in bipartisan discussions of the national debt and recognizes that long-term budget reform will require cooperation between Democrats and Republicans. We would like to see a more specific program identifying which spending should be restrained and which revenues should be increased, but her willingness to confront the arithmetic is welcome.
Goodlander also brings substantial national-security experience. She has supported Ukraine’s struggle for independence, joined bipartisan efforts to protect Ukrainian families from unfair immigration-processing delays and serves on the House Armed Services Committee.
Her approach to immigration is similarly pragmatic. She supports comprehensive reform combining border security with a lawful path for long-established undocumented residents and voted for the Laken Riley Act. We understand the public-safety rationale for that vote, but have reservations about mandatory detention triggered merely by an arrest or charge, before conviction, including for some relatively minor offenses. Strong enforcement and ordinary protections of due process are not mutually exclusive.
Goodlander nevertheless made clear that the legislation was no substitute for comprehensive immigration reform. She does not treat border enforcement and humane immigration policy as opposing ideas.
The Choice in the Democratic Primary
Goodlander’s opponent, state Representative Paige Beauchemin, is challenging her from the party’s ideological left. Beauchemin sharply criticized Goodlander for signing the Promise to America, supports more left-wing approaches to health care and immigration, and has promised to pursue President Trump’s impeachment immediately upon entering Congress.
CIVPAC believes Trump’s conduct may justify impeachment. Were credible articles based on serious constitutional violations presented to the House, we could support them. But promising impeachment before taking office is procedurally backward, and conviction would require a two-thirds Senate vote that is extraordinarily unlikely without a major Republican break with Trump.
Goodlander is hardly timid on the subject. Before entering Congress, she served as counsel in Trump’s first impeachment. Since taking office, she has challenged administration abuses of federal power, defended congressional war powers and opposed retaliation against members of Congress who reminded military personnel that they must obey only lawful orders. We prefer that kind of practical resistance to promising a confrontation before the evidence and circumstances are known.
A Disagreement on Israel
We do have an important disagreement with Goodlander over her recent vote to eliminate $3.3 billion in annual military assistance to Israel.
Goodlander continues to support Israel’s existence and right to defend itself as a Jewish and democratic state, along with continued American support for Israeli air-defense systems. But she argues that Israel is sufficiently prosperous and militarily capable that the traditional direct-aid relationship should be replaced by a more normal partnership.
CIVPAC shares her concern about civilian suffering in Gaza, settler violence in the West Bank and the conduct of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. We are nevertheless not persuaded that eliminating the entire appropriation is the right response. Israel continues to face serious threats from Iran and its proxies, and American support serves strategic as well as humanitarian purposes.
Beauchemin is not a more attractive alternative on this issue. She describes Israel’s conduct in Gaza as genocide, has made opposition to AIPAC a feature of her campaign and takes a substantially more restrictive view of American military support for Israel. Despite our disagreement with Goodlander over direct aid, her broader position on Israel and American international leadership is considerably closer to ours.
The Larger Judgment
No candidate will agree with CIVPAC on every issue. The relevant question is whether a candidate approaches public policy seriously, respects constitutional government, understands economic and political constraints and is willing to resist ideological pressure from her own party.
Maggie Goodlander has demonstrated those qualities. Paige Beauchemin offers voters a more left-wing alternative. Goodlander provides the stronger combination of experience, institutional judgment, political realism and bipartisan potential.
Centrist Independent Voter endorses Maggie Goodlander in the Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.