Goodlander and Tang Williams discuss housing, taxes and gun safety in the CD2 forum

Candidates running in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District offered different visions for the country's economic and foreign policy while appearing to find common ground on solutions to the nation's housing shortage in a debate at the NHPR studios in Concord on Monday afternoon.

Democrat Maggie Goodlander, a Nashua native who has spent much of her career in Washington, D.C., and Republican Lily Tang Williams, a self-described libertarian-leaning candidate who previously ran for Congress twice, met first in this race each other. The winner will serve the district that has been represented by Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster for more than a decade.

Here's what the candidates had to say about the issues that matter to voters.

Watch/Listen: Watch and listen to the 2nd Congressional District candidate forum on NHPR

Economy and taxes

Tang Williams expressed her strong support for imposing high tariffs on Chinese imports, justifying her position as an important measure to protect US national security. She said she would not support tariffs on imported goods from other countries.

“In general, I support free trade and tariffs will hurt consumers – but when it comes to China, that's just a different issue,” she said. “It is justified on national security grounds.”

Tang Williams emphasized throughout the debate the role she believes the government plays in stimulating inflation. She supported the statement of U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY): “Sixpenny plan” to cut 6% of spending across the board. and she has previously supported a federal hiring freeze and cuts at the U.S. Department Training.

Read: In the race for Congress, Williams and Goodlander advocate for — and against — Washington

Goodlander emphasized the importance of tax reform to benefit the working class, describing a “fair deal” for Americans that would provide a level playing field for businesses and tax cuts for middle earners.

“I spent three years at the Justice Department, including in the antitrust division, where I dealt with corporate monopolies that were driving up costs across the board,” she said.

Goodlander said federal tax cuts should benefit working families and that Congress should take a close look at Trump-era tax policies.

“We need fairness when it comes to a level playing field for businesses in this country and fairness when it comes to taxation,” she said.

Foreign policy

Goodlander said the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is forcing the U.S. to balance the dual priorities of national security and promoting American values. She called for a ceasefire in the region but did not say whether she would support a halt to U.S. arms sales to Israel.

“The bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel is based not only on a shared history and shared values, but also on shared threats to our own national security,” Goodlander said. “That is the starting premise: that our enemies are the enemies of Israel.”

Tang Williams said she believes the approach of the Biden administration — which includes National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is married to Goodlander — has made the world less safe, pointing to the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran as evidence of a failed one Approach. Tang Williams also pointed out that the spending allocated to the Ukrainian government is evidence that federal policies do not benefit US citizens.

“The world is burning, especially the Middle East, because of the failed foreign policy of Biden and your man Jake Sullivan,” Tang Williams said. “This tragedy would never happen on October 7th if we had very strong and non-absent leadership in the White House.”

Gun safety

The strongest disagreement between the candidates was over gun safety policy, as Goodlander expressed support for a voluntary firearm buyback program and Tang Williams made tough constitutional arguments for opposing further gun control efforts. She also said she supported using armed volunteers to patrol schools.

Tang Williams said that federal “gun-free zones” – like those that exist in schools, community centers or courthouses across the country – “cost lives” and that armed volunteers trained to safely handle a firearm could reduce gun violence cases there .

“My heart goes out to all victims of gun violence in our country, and whenever something happens, we should look for the roots of the problems,” said Tang Williams. “It’s not the guns; Guns are just a tool, just like a car is just a tool.”

Goodlander, who noticed this most common cause of death There is gun violence among American children, she said, adding that she supports a “common sense” approach to gun safety policy, including instituting voluntary buybacks and closing loopholes in the background check system such as the so-called Gap in Charlestonwhich allows the sale of a gun to proceed after a three-day notice, even if, in some cases, a background check has not been conducted.

“I believe in our Constitution and I believe in our Second Amendment,” Goodlander said. “I believe our Second Amendment allows for a broad range of common-sense gun safety solutions that address the No. 1 killer of our children in America.”

Housing shortage

While Goodlander and Tang Williams took different approaches to addressing the housing crisis, they reached some agreement on the need for local zoning reform to allow for more buildings and reduce red tape.

“I think we need local zoning law reforms,” Tang Williams said. “I believe in local control, but some cities have very, very (restrictive) zoning laws.”

Tang Williams said large investors who buy large tracts of land should be investigated by Congress and that people are interested in buying real estate as a hedge against monetary inflation.

“Our 'superinflation' could come if we don't stop this runaway spending,” she said. “It’s a government-made problem and I don’t want the government to step in and print money to provide a broader government solution.”

Goodlander said the local and federal governments should work together to solve the housing crisis by investing in infrastructure to reduce barriers to construction.

“We know what our mission is: We need to build 60,000 new homes in the state of New Hampshire by 2030, so that requires real investments in water and wastewater, building on the investments we saw from the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law.” enacted during the Biden-Harris administration,” Goodlander said. “There have been many disagreements in this debate, but I fully agree that we need to find creative ways to ensure that local zoning laws are moving in the right direction toward affordability and accessibility.”