Lily Tang Williams was multitasking when she campaigned at a New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women reception at Fulchino Vineyards in Hollis recently.
As the event kicked off, the congressional candidate snapped photos for her social media feed. When it was her turn to speak, Williams pivoted to fundraising, telling anyone willing to hand over a campaign donation to go see her husband.
“If you write a check, John will be very happy,” she said.
Williams’ DIY approach to campaigning charmed the crowd that night. It also worked for her in the GOP primary last month, where her anti-D.C., grassroots style boosted her to victory over a handful of better-funded rivals without running a single TV ad.
The challenge now facing Williams is how to translate that approach into a general election where she faces a single Democratic rival who enjoys a massive financial advantage, in a district that has favored Democrats for the past decade.
That opponent, Maggie Goodlander, is also campaigning aggressively in the race’s final weeks, with a single-minded focus on how her experience in Washington as a government lawyer would benefit residents of New Hampshire’s 2nd District. The pair offer voters a crisp contrast, in ideology, biography, and experience.
'She relates to people'
Williams’ political messaging leans into her life story. She was born into poverty in rural China under Mao, immigrated to the United State as a student, and became a naturalized citizen 30 years ago. She calls the United States “a promised land,” and says former President Donald Trump's approach is the best bet to preserve that.
“Go back to Trump-era border policies,” Williams told supporters in Hollis. “Deport immediately all of the illegal criminals. Defund sanctuary cities.”
That blend of bootstrapping personal story and right-wing rhetoric has earned Williams a loyal following among many New Hampshire conservatives.
“Lily’s the best challenger we have . . . and if anyone ever had a chance, she has it,” said Sandra Ziehm, a former member of the Nashua School Board who believes Williams connects with voters in ways that most politicians can’t. “She relates to people, real people.”
Williams’s political record is motley. In 2016, when living in Colorado, she lost big when she ran for US Senate — as a libertarian. Three years later, she moved to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project.
In Hollis, Williams told the crowd she knows she’ll need support from all corners of the GOP and among undeclared voters to stand much of a chance against the likes of Goodlander.
“I’ve got a huge uphill battle to fight, because she’s got all the establishment Democratic machine behind her,” Williams said. “And also Hillary Clinton endorsed her. So we know what we are up against.”
But while Williams works to sell 2nd District voters on a platform that prioritizes spending cuts, gun rights, and banning transgender girls from youth sports, she’s also quick to joke that she doesn’t much relish the prospect of having to spend time in Washington should she manage to win.
“I love New Hampshire; I wish I did not have to go to the Swamp. I will stay in Weare, come here, and drink some wine, it’s great,” Williams told the crowd at Fulchino Vineyards. “But I have to do this so we can have our free country.”
'Learning from the best'
As Williams derides Washington, Goodlander’s entire campaign is premised on the idea that she’s conditioned to thrive there.
At 37, she’s built her career in the federal government, with work in the Biden White House, at the Department of Justice, as a Supreme Court clerk, and on Capitol Hill, where she’s advised U.S. senators and worked on the first Trump impeachment.
Her tenure in the halls of Congress already has her drawing up her ideal committee assignments should she win election in November.
“The dream would be the appropriations committee, because that’s where I could bring home the bacon most effectively,” Goodlander told voters during a recent house party in Concord.
“I’ve been looking at the rules committee, which sounds so boring that nobody ever wants to be on it.," she added. "But it’s actually a committee where, especially if you are in the majority, you get to take a pass on any piece of legislation, so you get to play offense and defense.”
Throughout this race, Goodlander’s mostly played offense. Her D.C. resume, her connections in her hometown of Nashua, the big money she’s collected from national donors, and her capacity to appeal to voters spanning the Democratic electorate here: All of it helped Goodlander run up a nearly 2-to-1 win over former Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern in the Democratic primary. As she looks to November, Goodlander is focused on beating Williams.
“Fairness is on the line: I’m running against an opponent who would end Social Security as we know it, would gut Medicare, would embrace Project 2025 in all of its extremism,” Goodlander said in Nashua last week.
U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado joined Goodlander in Nashua to rally volunteers to knock doors for Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic ticket. Bennet said he’s known Goodlander for more than a decade, from her days as a congressional staffer, and told volunteers she “had learned from the best” during her time in Washington.
He said he first encountered Goodlander when she worked for Sen. John McCain during negotiations of a bipartisan immigration bill known as the "Gang of 8."
“Everyone of us was relying on our staff, heavily, to negotiate the bill when we weren’t in the room,” Bennet said. “John McCain was relying on Maggie for that, just as I was relying on my senior staff for that when she was much more junior than they were.”
If Goodlander wins in November — and Democrats have carried eight of the past nine elections in the 2nd District — she could soon make her return to Capitol Hill meeting rooms as a member of Congress.
