Lily Tang Williams once called for Republicans to unite behind Donald Trump.
She endorsed him after Nikki Haley dropped out of the presidential race and rallied crowds at an event with J.D. Vance days before the 2024 election. She wanted to help Trump defeat China and communism, she said on the campaign trail.
Now, well into Trump’s second term, the returning congressional candidate from Weare is taking a more tempered approach.
“I think that some of his policies are very good, especially when it comes to secure the border … and also protect women,” Williams said, referring to policies regarding immigration and transgender people. “But when it comes to inflation, reduce inflation, I really think that that’s the top issue on people’s mind.”
She also questioned his military strategy and whether other tools — “economically, morally, diplomatically” — had been exhausted before launching the war with Iran and stressed that a war should require congressional approval.
“Wars kill innocent people all over the world, but also [are] so expensive,” Williams said. “Are we really in the position to afford another long-term war, forever war? I don’t think so.”
Neither Williams or her Republican primary opponent, Victor Orlando, jumped at the chance to hitch their wagon to Trump, though the president still wields great influence over Republicans in Congress and has tipped the scales in several GOP primaries leading up to this fall’s midterms.
Instead, ahead of the Sept. 8 primary election, both are gravitating toward messages of affordability and so-called “kitchen table issues.”
Orlando, a political newcomer from Hollis, said he doesn’t know where he fits on the conservative spectrum, instead calling himself “realistic and pragmatic.” As a first-time candidate and self-described outsider, he said he’s prepared to negotiate with anyone on the issues that matter — whether that’s Trump or a Democrat.
Orlando was unspecific about how much he aligns with Trump and how he views his potential role in the president’s agenda.
For example, he calls for reforms to the American immigration system and advocates for a humane way to address people living in the U.S. illegally. Still, he commended the president for tackling the issue.
“I support them deporting illegal immigrants. I support them getting rid of people who are criminals,” Orlando said. “In terms of the process, is there a better way to do it? I have no idea. I’m just glad someone’s doing something about it instead of ignoring it like a lot of the previous presidents have been doing.”
Orlando, who owns a roofing company, said he decided to run for office after feeling the pinch of high prices last winter. Watching the cost of living creep up, he couldn’t shake one question.
“We were like, Jesus Christ, this stuff’s expensive — excuse my language, but this is expensive, like we’re feeling it,” he said. “Then we’re like, ‘We’re doing well for ourselves. How are people who aren’t feeling this doing it?'”
After feeling like national politicians aren’t doing anything to help with costs, infrastructure or other issues, Orlando said, he thinks someone with a more blue-collar background could push things in the right direction.
He’ll face Williams, who edged out a crowded field to clinch the Republican nomination for this seat in 2024 before losing to Democrat Maggie Goodlander. Williams is an immigrant from China and has run for Congress four times before: twice in Colorado as a Libertarian and twice as a Republican in New Hampshire. She moved to the Granite State about seven years ago as a participant of the Free State Project.
The two candidates agree on many things: The cost of living needs to lower, Congress needs to cut its spending and government policies and programs should prioritize American citizens.
Orlando criticized Williams’ focus on fighting China and communism, saying that while he shares her stance, Granite Staters need someone focused on issues closer to home.
“All the other stuff we argue about, like geopolitical stuff, foreign stuff, it doesn’t really matter if you can’t afford to buy bread,” he said. “You can’t afford to buy groceries, you don’t really care about the rest of that stuff.”
Indeed, Williams has campaigned for years on her backstory and Libertarian-leaning values. As she tells it, Williams grew up in Chengdu, China, during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution movement. Her lived experience there, with strict rules and financial struggles, propelled her to run for political office in the U.S. and is central to her campaign slogan: “I fear the country I love is becoming the country I left.”
But this election cycle, Williams is focusing less on communism and more on a message of affordability. She said Republican voters tell her, “Debt price is high, housing prices stay high, mortgage rates still high. How are we going to benefit?”
“They are focused on kitchen-table issues to, of course, benefit their families, their small businesses,” Williams said. “I think that this is one area we should really try to improve, have conversations.”
The winner of their Sept. 8 matchup will face a Democrat in the general election: either incumbent Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander or challenger Paige Beauchemin of Nashua.
