Colin Van Ostern
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Colin Van Ostern (born Kevin Colin O'Loughlin on February 14, 1979) is an American businessman and politician who served on the New Hampshire Executive Council from 2013 to 2017, where he represented the state's second district. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and was the Democratic nominee for
Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...
in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
. He was a candidate for a two-year term as
New Hampshire Secretary of State The secretary of state of New Hampshire is a constitutional officer in the U.S. state of New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to th ...
in the New Hampshire General Court's 2018 election, which he lost to incumbent Bill Gardner. He ran in the 2024 Democratic primary to succeed Annie Kuster in
New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district covers the western, northern, and some southern parts of New Hampshire. It includes the state's second-largest city, Nashua, New Hampshire, Nashua, as well as the state capital, Concord, New Hampshire, C ...
; he was defeated by
Maggie Goodlander Margaret Vivian Goodlander (born November 4, 1986) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative from New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district since 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Goodlander ...
.


Early life and education

Van Ostern was born in
Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...
on February 14, 1979, to a family of Irish ancestry. He moved repeatedly as a young child, arriving in New Hampshire in 2001 in his early twenties. He attended high school at Maggie Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
, and college in Washington, D.C. at
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2000 in International Relations. He received a M.B.A. from the
Tuck School of Business The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. It was founded in 1900 as the first institution in th ...
at
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
in Hanover, New Hampshire in 2009. Van Ostern was born Kevin Colin O'Loughlin, but was always referred to by his middle name; during his childhood, he adopted the surname Van Ostern as a nod to his mother and stepfather's family. He changed his surname to Van Ostern O'Loughlin, though he was primarily known simply as Colin Van Ostern, which he shortened his legal name to when he began running for office.


Professional career

Van Ostern formerly served as the president and chief operating officer of Alumni Ventures, a venture capital firm headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire. Previously, Van Ostern worked as vice president of Workforce Solutions at
Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with ...
. He previously helped SNHU launch College for America, a nonprofit school focused on providing a college education to individuals within the work force interested in furthering their education. College for America works directly with students' employers to ensure that each student can gain their education while continuing their career, usually with little or no debt. Van Ostern joined the school shortly before its launch in 2013. Previously, he was a business manager at Stonyfield, Inc., where he managed various brands and business lines for the world's largest organic yogurt maker. In 2004, he founded a business-consulting firm called Washington Street Consulting. As the principal of his consulting firm, Van Ostern advised over 30 nonprofits and small businesses. He has also served as a senior advisor to various elected officials including U.S. Senator
Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen ( ; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American politician and former educator serving since 2009 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New Hampshire. A ...
and Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster, and before moving to New Hampshire in 2001.


Political career

Van Ostern won a seat on the New Hampshire Executive Council in 2012, succeeding former Executive Councilor Daniel St. Hilaire. He was re-elected in 2014. Van Ostern was the Democratic Party's nominee for Governor of New Hampshire in 2016, winning the primary election by a vote of 52 percent to
Steve Marchand Steve Marchand (born January 10, 1974) is an American politician. He served as the mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from 2006 to 2008. He is the principal of SRM Consulting, a public affairs and strategic communications firm. Prior to that, he ...
's 25% and Mark Connolly's 20 percent, and narrowly losing the general election by a vote of 47 percent to Chris Sununu's 49 percent.


Commuter rail

Van Ostern was first elected to the Executive Council after campaigning on the importance of building passenger rail from Boston to central New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Capitol Corridor rail project was halted by the Executive Council in 2011, but continued in 2013 after Van Ostern was elected. A study focused on the production of the rail system and funded by the state of New Hampshire was completed in 2015, finding that rail from Boston to Manchester would result in a projected 5,600 new permanent jobs and 3,630 additional construction jobs.


Healthcare and reproductive rights

Van Ostern has been a strong advocate for providing accessible healthcare options for all New Hampshire citizens. In 2014, he voted with a majority 3-2 on the Executive Council to enact the New Hampshire Health Protection Plan, which has since expanded Medicaid to over 40,000 New Hampshire citizens. Van Ostern publicly opposed Republican members of the Executive Council when they voted against funding family planning services at New Hampshire's Planned Parenthood health centers in both 2011 and 2015, and in 2015 he was awarded the Champion of Choice award by NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire, the state's largest grassroots organization dedicated solely to reproductive rights.


Ending the 2014–2015 Fairpoint strike

In October 2014, 1,700 workers at Fairpoint Communications in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont went on strike after the company froze pensions, implemented pay reductions for new employees, and limited health care benefits. By late November, negotiations between the two sides had reached an impasse. On December 23, Van Ostern asked state officials to delay a proposed $13 million contract for state phone and data service with Fairpoint, citing the poor consumer service levels in the wake of the strike. Members of the striking labor union, IBEW, used the contract delay to call on the company to return to negotiations. Negotiations between the company and striking workers resumed on January 4, 2015 and the contract was passed unanimously on the Executive Council later that month. The strike was resolved in early February, and was the nation's largest and longest in 2014.


2018 campaign for Secretary of State

In 2018, Van Ostern was a candidate for
New Hampshire Secretary of State The secretary of state of New Hampshire is a constitutional officer in the U.S. state of New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to th ...
. The New Hampshire General Court selects the secretary of state, and Van Ostern's campaign against longtime incumbent Bill Gardner, a fellow Democrat who has supported some Republican election and voting proposals, was based in part on the Democratic Party gaining control of both the
New Hampshire Senate The New Hampshire State Senate is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. The Senate has been meeting since 1784. The Senate consists of 24 members representing Senate distri ...
and
New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...
in the 2018 elections. Gardner won the December 5 legislative election, 209 votes to 205.


2024 campaign for United States House of Representatives

On March 28, 2024, Van Ostern announced that he would run for
New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district covers the western, northern, and some southern parts of New Hampshire. It includes the state's second-largest city, Nashua, New Hampshire, Nashua, as well as the state capital, Concord, New Hampshire, C ...
in the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
that year to succeed retiring Representative Annie Kuster. He was eventually defeated in the Democratic Primary by
Maggie Goodlander Margaret Vivian Goodlander (born November 4, 1986) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative from New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district since 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Goodlander ...
with 63.8% of the vote to Van Ostern's 36.2%.


Personal life

Van Ostern and his wife, Kristyn, have two children.


References


External links


Campaign Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ostern, Colin 1979 births 21st-century American businesspeople American people of Irish descent Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Elliott School of International Affairs alumni Living people Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies alumni Members of the Executive Council of New Hampshire New Hampshire Democrats Politicians from Concord, New Hampshire Southern New Hampshire University staff Tuck School of Business alumni Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections