Maura Sullivan (born October 18, 1979) is an American politician, veteran, and former government official. Sullivan previously served as an official in the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

from 2014 to 2016 in both the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

and the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

. She also served on the

American Battle Monuments Commission The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memoria ...

starting in 2010, and began her career as an officer in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

serving in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Sullivan ran for Congress as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

New Hampshire's 1st congressional district New Hampshire's 1st congressional district covers parts of Southern New Hampshire and the eastern portion of the state. The district contains parts of Hillsborough, Rockingham, Merrimack, Grafton, and Belknap counties; and the entirety of ...

, which includes

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, and

Lake Winnipesaukee Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...

. On September 11, 2018, she lost her primary race for the 1st congressional district to Chris Pappas. In April 2025, after Pappas announced his run for Senate in 2026, Sullivan launched her campaign for the same House seat in the 2026 election.

Early life and education

Sullivan attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

on an

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

scholarship. Sullivan then served as a logistics officer in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

, reaching the rank of captain, and her deployments included time in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, Japan, and

Fallujah Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region ...

, Iraq. She earned the Navy Commendation Medal and a Navy / Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a Gold Star. Following her military service, Sullivan attended

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

and

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. She graduated in 2009 and worked at

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

in management roles across

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

Public service

In 2010, Sullivan was named to the

. On October 1, 2014,

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

appointed Sullivan Assistant Secretary of

Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

for the Office of Public & Intergovernmental Affairs. At the VA, Sullivan was the principal public affairs advisor to

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

Robert A. McDonald. On June 22, 2015, Sullivan was named

Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs The Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, or ATSD (PA), is the principal staff advisor and assistant to the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense for public information, internal information, community relation ...

, where she led communications policy for the Department of Defense.

Political career

2018 congressional election

On October 23, 2017, Sullivan announced that she would run for Congress in

less than three months after moving to the state. After entering the race, Sullivan raised over $1.5 million and was endorsed by

EMILY's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "E ...

, Serve America, '' New Politics'', WithHonor.org, and Vote Vets. Throughout the campaign, Sullivan was criticized as a "

carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical pejorative used by Southerners to describe allegedly opportunistic or disruptive Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War and were pe ...

" due to her lack of history in New Hampshire. During her campaign, Sullivan was endorsed by

Seth Moulton Seth Wilbur Moulton (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician and former Marine Corps officer who has been the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his distr ...

, a fellow Marine Corps veteran and Congressman from Massachusetts. She was also endorsed by

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of health and human services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebelius was instrumenta ...

, the former Health and Human Services Secretary in the Obama administration and former Governor of Kansas. Sullivan lost the Democratic primary, on September 11, 2018, coming in second to Chris Pappas.

2026 congressional election

On April 10, 2025, Sullivan announced she would again run for Congress in

, following Pappas's decision to run for

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Sullivan raised $400,000 in her campaign's first week. She again received the endorsements of Vote Vets,

With Honor With Honor Action is a - 501(c)4 nonprofit in the United States, led by military veterans that focuses on promoting and advancing principled veteran leadership in order to reduce political polarization. With Honor Action's mission is to promote ...

, and Congressman

, as well as Pennsylvania Congressman

Chris Deluzio Christopher Raphael Deluzio (born July 13, 1984) is an American politician, attorney, and former U.S. Navy officer serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

, a Navy veteran. Shortly after her campaign was launched, Sullivan was criticized for Tweeting that she was a "lifelong Granite Stater," despite only moving to New Hampshire in 2017. She subsequently deleted the Tweet.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Maura 1979 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century New Hampshire politicians Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections Female United States Marine Corps personnel Harvard Business School alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Military personnel from Evanston, Illinois New Hampshire Democrats Northwestern University alumni Obama administration personnel PepsiCo people Politicians from Evanston, Illinois United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense United States Department of Veterans Affairs officials United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War Women in New Hampshire politics