New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware close out the 2024 congressional primaries on Tuesday, when Democrats will settle one last intraparty battle in the Granite State.
New Hampshire Rep. Ann McLane Kuster’s decision to retire opens up the 2nd District seat, a battleground district covering the western and northern parts of the state. Colin Van Ostern, a former state executive councilor who ran for governor in 2016, and Maggie Goodlander, a former Department of Justice and White House staffer, are locked in a testy fight for the Democratic nomination.
The two share some similar political positions, but the campaign has grown increasingly negative as the candidates have sparred over their job histories and outside spending on the race.
Van Ostern and his allies, including Kuster, who cut an ad for him attacking Goodlander, have argued that she hasn’t lived in the state for much of her adult life and that outside groups supporting her campaign are trying to buy a seat. But Goodlander has criticized Van Ostern for his recent work at a venture capital firm and defended her New Hampshire roots. Goodlander recently picked up an endorsement from former Gov. John Lynch, who previously had backed Van Ostern but criticized his campaign as nasty.
Goodlander led the race in fundraising. She raised $2.4 million and had $791,000 on hand as of August 21, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Van Ostern raised $1.4 million and had $568,000 on hand for the final weeks of the campaign.
The Principled Veterans Fund, VoteVets and Women Vote have waded into the primary to support Goodlander. Combined, the groups have spent $1.1 million boosting her campaign, and VoteVets spent another $455,000 to oppose Van Ostern.
The New Democratic Majority, on the other hand, spent $185,000 supporting Van Ostern and opposing Goodlander.
A Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll taken Aug. 13-14 of registered voters likely to vote in the primary found Goodlander leading Van Ostern, 41 percent to 31 percent, with 28 percent unsure.
On the Republican side, 13 candidates are facing off, but only a handful of them have reported raising money with the FEC. Vikram Mansharamani, who lost a Senate primary in 2022, had $297,000 on hand as of August 21, while Lily Tang Williams, chair of the NH Asian American Coalition, had $141,000, and oil trader Bill Hamlen had $131,000. Paul M. Wagner had just $586 on hand when he filed his pre-primary report.
Americans for Prosperity Action and the Granite State Leadership Fund have spent a combined $65,000 supporting Mansharamani.
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race as Likely Democratic.
Republicans in the 1st District will also choose among seven candidates to be their nominee to challenge Rep. Chris Pappas, who faces nominal opposition in the Democratic primary as he seeks a fourth term.
Former executive councilor Russell Prescott, a business owner, loaned his campaign $450,000, contributing to the $939,000 he raised as of August 21. Hollie Noveltsky, a nurse and businesswoman, raised $447,000, including a $65,000 loan, and had $178,000 on hand. Joe Kelly Levasseur, a Manchester alderman, raised $139,000, including a $100,000 personal loan, and had $139,000 on hand for the final weeks of the campaign.
The Saint Anselm poll taken last month showed a largely undecided electorate, with 59 percent of likely primary voters saying they were unsure of who they would vote for.
Inside Elections rates the race as Lean Democratic.
In Delaware, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester isn’t on the ballot Tuesday as she seeks to succeed retiring Sen. Thomas R. Carper because she’s unopposed on the Democratic side. There’s also only one Republican, former Walmart executive Eric Hansen, running for the seat. Inside Elections rates the race as Solid Democratic.
Blunt Rochester’s efforts to move to the Senate opens up the state’s at-large House seat. State Sen. Sarah McBride, a Democrat, is the front-runner for that seat. If elected, she would make history as the first openly transgender member of Congress.
McBride, who has been endorsed by Blunt Rochester, Carper and fellow Sen. Chiris Coons, as well as several other members of Congress, had $1.7 million on hand as of August 21. Neither of her two Democratic opponents, businessman Earl Cooper and financier Elias Weir, reported raising any money with the FEC.
McBride is expected to be the front-runner in November, too. Republicans Donyale Hall, a businesswoman and veteran, and John Whalen, a retired Delaware State Police officer, are both seeking their party’s nomination. Inside Elections rates the race as Solid Democratic.
Still, Equality PAC and Protect Progress, a super PAC with ties to the cryptocurrency industry, have spent a combined $218,000 to support McBride’s campaign.
In the Democratic primary for Rhode Island’s Senate seat, Michael Costa, an investment advisor from Bristol, is self-funding an effort to unseat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. Costa, who has never held elective office before, is running on a platform that calls for 12-year term limits for members of Congress. Whitehouse has served in the Senate since 2007.
Costa loaned his campaign $200,000 and had $201,000 on hand as of Aug. 21. Whitehouse had $3.6 million in the bank. Both candidates are running ads.
The Republican primary features state Rep. Patricia Morgan and Raymond McKay, an Army veteran and former administrator for the city of Warwick. The seat is rated Solid Democratic by Inside Elections.
After two hard-fought contests for open seats in 2022 and 2023, this year’s House primaries in the Ocean State have been quieter.
In the 1st District, Rep. Gabe Amo, a Democrat who won a special election to fill former Rep. David Cicilline’s term, doesn’t have a primary opponent, unlike last year, when he was part of a crowded field of Democrats seeking the seat. Amo will face Republican Allen Waters in November.
In the 2nd District, freshman Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner also doesn’t have a Democratic challenger. His Republican opponent is Steven Corvi, an adjunct lecturer and veteran.
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