Colin Van Ostern is competing in the Democratic primary on September 10th to be on the November ballot for the NH 2nd Congressional District seat being vacated by Congresswoman Annie Kuster. Kuster in March endorsed Van Ostern, who served as campaign manager for her 2010 congressional run.
Van Ostern, 45, who resides in Concord with his wife Kristyn, and their two sons. His resume is a mix of public and private experience.
He served two terms on the Executive Council from 2012-2016. In 2016 he ran for governor and lost to Republican Chris Sununu who still serves today. In 2018 he attempted to become the Secretary of State but did not gain the NH General Court (state legislature) appointment.
He worked in marketing roles at SNHU and Stony Field Yogurt. From 2019 to 2023 he was President & CEO of the venture capital firm Alumni Ventures. Currently, he is a board member of the NextGen Manchseter Resiliency Council and the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation.
In Nashua, the Mayor and many State legislators in the city have endorsed him and many are actively helping with the campaign. According to Van Ostern, those endorsements are based on their experience working on issues together, like commuter rail, building out the bio-fabrication industry, Medicaid expansion, and defending Planned Parenthood funding.
“It is incredibly gratifying to have so many people from across the district who were part of those fights who are with me in this one,” he said.
Van Ostern is competing against Maggie Goodlander for the Democratic nomination. They have agreement on most policy issues. This race is a competition of relevant experience, his serving in the NH government and hers serving in the federal government.
His original run for executive council was motivated by the 2011 decision of the state to cut off Planned Parenthood funding and the denied acceptance of a $5 million grant to do a rail economic feasibility study. Local businesses and people in Nashua pooled resources to underwrite the successful grant application. The Executive Council turned down the grant despite the local support.
For him, getting results requires persistence and organized effort.
“It is frustrating when progress doesn’t happen faster. I have seen personally how when people standing up to get things back on track works in the past. I am very confident that is what we can do moving forward, “Van Ostern said.
The top of the Democratic ticket has changed the enthusiasm level in this election cycle. Those changes have positive effects but have not changed Van Ostern’s approach and objectives.
“We see a lot more genuine enthusiasm than we did six weeks ago but it really doesn’t change what I spend my time on. My job is to stand up for the people of this district no matter who the next President is. I have worked with Republicans, I have worked with Democrats. I have made progress working with people from both parties. When you run to be representative of a district you put those people first,” said Van Ostern.
“Many of us just have not had faith that the people in Washington are fighting for us. It feels like there is a lot of Washington drama and we are locked into someone else’s nightmare. We see extremists who keep throwing sand into the gears of government until it stops working and we see really powerful interests get their way,” he said. “There are not enough people who are standing up for everyday families like the one I grew up with.”
Protecting reproductive rights, lowering healthcare costs, lowering higher education costs, and lowering household costs across the board are the issues that Van Ostren advocates for. He sees his past efforts and experience in the public and private sectors as a match for these challenges facing the district. He cites his roles in Medicaid expansion which covers 100,000 Granite Staters and the founding of the non-profit workforce development college at SNHU as examples of his past work.
He is looking to fill the seat being vacated by Kuster, and reflecting on her service and the value to him of her endorsement, he said, “It is a little bittersweet that she is retiring. She has done a great job for the people of this district I am incredibly humbled and grateful that she’s endorsed me in this race. I think in part she knows how hard the job is and how important it is to have somebody that really understands our lives, our struggles, and our communities.”
“The reason she has been effective and by the way, the same reason that Maggie Hassan, Jean Shaheen, and Chris Pappas have been so effective for us in Congress… different people, different genders, different generations, but every single one of them understands New Hampshire,” he said. “They know what our lives are like, they know the communities like the back of their hands. I know that because I served with them.”
Van Ostern believes going to Congress is the next step in his continued path of working for the families of New Hampshire.