Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg listens to residents’ questions during the Feb. 19 community conversation at Nashua Community College. Telegraph photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

NASHUA – With nine months remaining before the midterm elections, there is good news for southern New Hampshire Democrats.

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) recently announced that after more than a year of protesting, President Donald Trump and his administration are beginning to weaken.

“You’re not powerless,” Buttigieg said before a packed auditorium at Nashua Community College on Feb. 19.

He said that in December 2025, Trump personally called several of Indiana’s Republican state senators pressuring them to vote for a redistricting bill to allow two more Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives where the GOP currently has a four-member advantage over the Democrats. Indiana’s Republican-controlled Senate ultimately defeated the bill in a 31-19 vote.

However, Buttigieg warned that as Trump gets weaker, he will also become more dangerous.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) responding to residents’ questions during the Feb. 19 community conversation at Nashua Community College. Telegraph photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

“There’s such a barrage of outrage,” said Buttigieg. “Look what they were trying to do to Maggie.”

In November 2025, Goodlander, a former U.S. Navy lieutenant, joined five other Democrats with military backgrounds in a video telling servicemen and women that they “must refuse ‘illegal orders.'” Trump responded to the video with death threats and Goodlander’s Concord office received a potential bomb scare. She and her colleagues also faced indictments from the U.S. Department of Justice which have since been dismissed.

In addition, Goodlander called attention to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which was passed by the House in April 2025 and is currently pending in the U.S. Senate. If passed, the legislation would have the greatest impact on married women with a last name that is different from the last name on their birth certificate.

“This is not a bill that we need in America,” said Goodlander, who is running for reelection. “We’ve got to push and be relentless.”

She also said that the Election Clause in Article One of the U.S. Constitution states that only Congress has the authority to act in federal elections, not the president.

Buttigieg said Republicans crafted the SAVE Act to appear like practical legislation. However, it is the direct opposite.

“They do not believe they can win in a fair and free election,” he said.

On the immigration front, Buttigieg said Trump is making it increasingly difficult for immigrants to legally come into the U.S. He also said the GOP is using the immigration crisis to further divide the country.

“There has to be a reasonable path to citizenship,” said Buttigieg.