In front of a live audience at Brewbakers Cafe in Keene, Republican Lily Tang Williams and Democrat Maggie Goodlander shared competing visions for how to address New Hampshire’s affordability crisis, and fielded questions about the war in Iran, AI, and corruption.
NHPR's Annmarie Timmins and The Keene Sentinel's Rick Green managed the forum, which was hosted in partnership with the Keene Sentinel, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript and the Granite State News Collaborative.
For the full conversation, watch the video using the player below or on YouTube.
Key highlights
Both candidates stressed the importance of affordability — but shared different visions for how to address high costs.
On healthcare:
Williams emphasized her opposition to the Affordable Care Act, arguing it will continue to drive up healthcare costs. “We need more choices as consumers. We need more competition,” she said. “We need to go let the people to decide which doctor, which help they want.” She also called for more price transparency.
Goodlander disagreed, calling for a restoration of Affordable Care Act tax credits. “People in this room are paying more than ever before for their health care because of these cuts to Medicaid, because of the refusal to actually extend the tax credits,” she said.
On energy:
Williams said her plan to lower energy costs would focus on investing in nuclear energy: She called for cutting red tape at the federal level and fast-tracking plans for New Hampshire to acquire small modular reactors.
Meanwhile, Goodlander proposed reining in corporate utility rate hikes, which she said have gone “unchecked” by Congress and New Hampshire’s Public Utilities Commission. “We’ve seen investor owned utilities in this state getting rubber stamped on multi-million dollar rate hikes year after year,” she said.
One thing they agreed on: Cracking down on political corruption.
Goodlander called the ballooning wealth of President Trump and other top-ranking political officials “unprecedented, outrageous.” She proposed a ban on “stock trading, participation in prediction markets and participation in crypto trades” for the President and Vice President, members of Congress, and their families.
Williams agreed, and took Goodlander’s proposal a step further: She also endorsed a ban on insider trading for members of Congress and suggested politicians wear body cameras to ensure ethical behavior. “We need to focus on how to protect our privacy, civil liberties instead of play party politics,” Williams said.
NHPR broadcast this forum on the radio on Friday, Oct. 16, at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
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