Maggie Goodlander’s Washington, D.C., resume was long from the beginning. She’d worked in the Department of Justice, clerked for the United States Supreme Court and served as an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserve. Now, she will add U.S. Congress to the list. 

As of 10:45 p.m., the Monitor’s press time, Goodlander held a steady lead over Republican Lily Tang Williams, leading by 11 percentage points, with 50 percent of the vote reported. Shortly after midnight, Williams released a statement conceding the race.

“Thank you to everyone who cast a vote for our campaign and our goal to keep the American Dream alive. I am grateful for the outpouring of support, especially in the last few weeks. I remain committed to fighting for a better future for our nation, and will continue to be a voice for holding our government accountable and demanding transparency and truth from our elected officials,” she stated.

For voters like Thalia Floras, the year started on a down note with Democrats. President Joe Biden had skipped the first-in-the-nation primary, so she registered as an independent to support Nikki Haley. 

Goodlander spared her sorrow.

To Floras, Goodlander’s resume impressed her from the start, so much so that she drove up from Nashua on Election Day to celebrate in Concord with her rescue dog Lucy in tow. 

For Mike Lewis, electing a candidate is akin to making a hire. Goodlander’s resume hit the nail on the head with New Hampshire roots but Washington experience. 

“We're in the situation of hiring someone who is grounded in and grew up here but her professional experiences will make her very capable when representing us in D.C.,” he said. 

Goodlander launched her campaign for Congress in May, moving back to her hometown of Nashua to be eligible in the district. At the time, former Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern was incumbent U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster’s handpicked successor. 

While Goodlander rattled off her resume on the campaign trail, it also yielded some skepticism. Van Ostern launched attacks that she was out of touch from her time out of state and Williams was quick to highlight her husband, Jake Sullivan, who is Biden’s national security adviser. 

And despite spending her adult years in Washington, in New Hampshire, Goodlander leaned into her longstanding family ties. Her mother, Betty Tamposi, was a Republican legislator in the New Hampshire state House and ran for the same congressional seat in 1988, where her candidacy was met with staunch opposition from male competitors, who coined the slogan “a women’s place is in the home, not the House.” 

On Election Day, her daughter flipped that message on its head with blue-and-white campaign signs that read, “A woman’s place is in the United States House.” 

For Weare residents like Brenda Lashway, watching Williams rise to prominence was a long time coming. To her, Williams’ candidacy, and story of leaving communism in China, is emblematic of American values. 

“It has been a crazy ride,” she said. “She was on the low key for so long.” 

When Lashway, who has lived in Weare for 40 years, arrived at the middle school to vote Tuesday morning, the line at the polls spanned down the street as Williams greeted voters. 

Prior to their congressional runs, neither Goodlander nor Williams had held office. Yet their candidacies offered a stark contrast in political ties and support. Goodlander took pride in her Washington connections, while Williams referenced the nation’s capital as “the swamp.” 

Ahead of Election Day, Goolander raised nearly $4 million, while Williams never broke $1 million, stating that she never had enough cash on hand for television advertisements. 

To a crowd in Nashua, Williams assured voters that this would not be the end of her political career. 

“No matter what happens tonight, I'm not going to disappear,” she said. “I’m a happy warrior, I’m not really exhausted after campaigning for 17 months.”

Williams told voters to continue to follow her and that she’d have plans  despite the result. That is after she  takes a long vacation with her husband.