Note: The leadership team of the Oyster River Democrats does not endorse candidates in contested Democratic primaries. Our role is to give voters the chance to meet the candidates, ask them questions, and access their campaign literature, not to choose among them. We host candidate events and share information so that voters can make their own informed choice heading into the primary. Unfortunately, schedules didn’t work out with all primary candidates to attend one of our monthly meetings before the election this year.
August 11, 2026
Meeting of the Oyster River Democrats
We heard from 4 candidates at this meeting. Here is a summary of their remarks.
Candidate on the Democratic Primary ballot for Congressional District 1 in the election to succeed Chris Pappas.
MAURA SULLIVAN is a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War who later served as Assistant Secretary at the VA and in a senior communications role at the Pentagon under President Obama. She framed her campaign around lowering healthcare and housing costs and taking on corporate interests, and fielded questions ranging from Social Security solvency to gun violence to U.S. membership in the International Criminal Court. On Social Security, she committed to joining the bipartisan For Country Caucus and pursuing a “durable and sustainable” funding fix, pointing to raising the income cap, reviewing the Pentagon budget, and taxing billionaires as starting points. On guns, she called for reinstating the assault weapons ban, banning bump stocks, and passing universal background checks. Asked why she doesn’t support single-payer healthcare, she said her focus is on what’s achievable in a nearly even three-way district (29% Democrat, 40% independent, 31% Republican) and pointed to shoring up the ACA, restoring Medicaid cuts, and creating a capped-income Medicare option as near-term priorities. Maura’s campaign website is HERE.
Candidate on the Democratic Primary ballot for Congressional District 1 in the election to succeed Chris Pappas.
HEATH HOWARD is currently serving his second term in the NH House representing a competitive Barrington-area district. He centered his remarks on four issues he said define the race: universal (single-payer) healthcare, tuition-free public higher education, a livable minimum wage, and banning corporations from buying up single-family homes. He connected his advocacy to his own story — a severe back injury at 15 that required spinal surgery — and to New Hampshire’s affordability crisis, noting the state has passed Maine as the nation’s oldest and lags in attracting young people and new businesses. He also addressed why he’s running for Congress rather than seeking reelection to the House: turning 26 meant losing coverage under his family’s insurance, underscoring for him the urgency of guaranteed healthcare. Heath’s campaign website is HERE.
The Democratic Party candidate for Executive Council, District 1 (Note: this district includes Durham and Madbury, but not Lee)
Dr. LUZ BAY is a two-term state representative for Dover and an unopposed Democratic candidate for the Executive Council seat covering the sprawling District 1 (Durham to the Canadian border). She walked the room through what the Council actually does using the acronym CARS — Contracts, Appointments, Roads, and Service. Luz argued that the current 4–1 Republican council has let ideology override good governance, citing the defunding of Planned Parenthood, the return of $27 million in COVID relief funds, and the rejection of a $1.26 million federal childcare-training grant over objections to the word “inclusion.” She’s running against Republican incumbent Joe Kenney and asked for help reaching rural voters in Coos and Carroll counties. Luz’s campaign website is HERE.
Candidate on the Democratic Primary ballot for NH US Senate. This is the open seat currently held by Jeanne Shaheen, who is not running for re-election.
MAX SAAL dropped by our meeting to introduce himself. He is a first-time candidate and former cystic fibrosis researcher from Walpole. Max gave a short introduction to his U.S. Senate campaign. Speaking from prepared remarks, he described an economy that has “only seemed to get harder to live in” throughout his adult life and framed his candidacy around generational change, tackling the housing shortage, and restoring “optimism” to politics. Max’s campaign website is HERE.
