Chris Pappas, a four-term Democratic congressman, has won New Hampshire's US Senate race, denying Republicans a flip of the open seat in a closely fought contest against John Sununu, a former senator. Pappas, 46, will be the first out gay man to serve in the US Senate. Sununu conceded on Tuesday evening as screens at Pappas's election night watch party in Manchester switched to his speech, the room erupting into screams and the crowd chanting: "LET'S GO PAPPAS!"
Pappas, a centrist voice in the US House who has at times broken with his party on major legislation, built his Senate campaign around serving as a bulwark against the Trump administration, which the Guardian reports is unpopular in the Granite State. The race had become a late source of anxiety for Democrats, with Pappas locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Sununu to succeed Jeanne Shaheen, the retiring Democratic senator. Sununu represented New Hampshire in the Senate before losing his seat in 2008.
Speaking on Tuesday evening, Pappas thanked Sununu for a "very gracious" call to concede. "Tonight's results are a wakeup call for corporate special interests and billionaires who have been rigging the economy," he told the crowd of campaign staffers, volunteers, supporters and local Democratic officials. "Tonight, voters in New Hampshire, and all across the country, simply have had enough and are demanding a change in direction. I am ready to fight with everything I've got to deliver the change that we need."
With his husband, Vann Bentley, beside him, Pappas pledged to fight for reproductive freedom and, to louder cheers, against the creation of data centers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities.
Pappas said: “This was a hard-fought victory tonight,” he said. “It was made even harder by the tens and tens of millions of dollars that poured into New Hampshire from Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and corporate special interests who are just fine with the way things are going right now.” He added: “They threw money, attack ads, and outright lies at us every day for months. But we beat them anyway, didn’t we?”
The Guardian reports that the victory speech of the establishment Democratic candidate echoed much of the rhetoric of populist candidates who have seen success this cycle, from Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan to James Talarico in Texas.
Pappas secured endorsements from several prominent Democrats and portrayed Sununu, who once called Donald Trump a "loser", as a faux moderate who would ultimately rubber-stamp the president's agenda. He highlighted a range of policies on the campaign trail, from the war against Iran to Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Sununu, who secured Trump's endorsement, pitched himself as an independent-minded candidate and worked to put distance between himself and the president. He criticized the war in Iran, accused the administration of not doing enough to support Ukraine and claimed in a recent campaign ad that he had "never met" the president.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The result keeps an open Senate seat in Democratic hands in a race the party had come to worry about, in a cycle where several Democratic candidates have run on populist economic messaging.
- Pappas becomes the first out gay man elected to the Senate, a first that will be read well beyond New Hampshire.
- His victory speech mixed centrist positioning with attacks on billionaires, corporate money and data centers, a signal of which arguments Democrats found worked in a swing state.
Background
New Hampshire is a competitive state that has sent both Republicans and Democrats to the Senate, and open seats there are among the races both parties watch closely. Jeanne Shaheen's retirement created one such opening. John Sununu is a former senator from a well-known New Hampshire political family, which made him a recognisable opponent, while Pappas entered the race as a sitting congressman and the establishment favourite. The Guardian reports that the contest tightened late, and that Pappas framed the race as a check on the Trump administration.
Key Perspectives
- Chris Pappas: cast the result as a rejection of corporate special interests, billionaires and outside money, and pledged to fight for reproductive freedom and against data centers and ICE detention facilities.
- John Sununu: presented himself as independent-minded, criticised the war in Iran, said the administration was not doing enough for Ukraine and claimed in an ad that he had never met the president, despite holding Trump's endorsement.
- Pappas on Sununu: portrayed his opponent as a faux moderate who would rubber-stamp the president's agenda.
What to Watch
- Whether other Democratic candidates in tight races adopt the same mix of centrist branding and populist economics in the final stretch of the cycle.
- How Sununu's balancing act, accepting Trump's endorsement while distancing himself from the president, is assessed by Republicans looking for a swing-state formula.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedChris Pappas won the New Hampshire Senate race and will be the first out gay man to serve in the US Senate.World news | The Guardian: “Chris Pappas, the four-term Democratic congressman, has won New Hampshire’s US Senate race, protecting the open seat from a Republican flip in a closely fought contest against John Sununu, the former senator. Pappas will be the first out gay man to serve in the US Senate.”
- SupportedPappas is a four-term Democratic congressman and is 46.World news | The Guardian: “Chris Pappas, the four-term Democratic congressman, has won New Hampshire’s US Senate race... Pappas, 46, is a centrist voice in the US House”
- SupportedSununu conceded with about a fifth of the vote counted.World news | The Guardian: “With 20% of the vote in, Sununu officially conceded to Pappas.”
- SupportedSununu is a former senator who lost his Senate seat in 2008.World news | The Guardian: “Sununu – who represented New Hampshire in the Senate before losing his seat in 2008 – pitched himself as an independent-minded candidate.”
- SupportedPappas’s campaign focused on serving as a bulwark against the Trump administration, which the source describes as unpopular in New Hampshire.World news | The Guardian: “He focused his Senate campaign on serving as a bulwark against the Trump administration, which is unpopular in the Granite State.”
- SupportedAt Pappas’s watch party, the crowd chanted “LET'S GO PAPPAS!” as screens showed Sununu’s concession speech.World news | The Guardian: “As screens at Pappas’ election night watch party in Manchester switched to Sununu’s concession speech, the room erupted into screams, with the crowd chanting: “LET’S GO PAPPAS!””
- SupportedPappas called Sununu’s concession call “very gracious.”World news | The Guardian: “On state on Tuesday evening, Pappas thanked Sununu for a “very gracious” call to concede.”
- SupportedPappas said the results were a wakeup call for corporate special interests and billionaires who had been rigging the economy.World news | The Guardian: ““Tonight’s results are a wakeup call for corporate special interests and billionaires who have been rigging the economy, for the cowards in Congress who have enabled health care cuts, tariffs, and war””
- SupportedPappas said tens of millions of dollars had poured into New Hampshire from Donald Trump, Elon Musk and corporate special interests.World news | The Guardian: ““It was made even harder by the tens and tens of millions of dollars that poured into New Hampshire from Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and corporate special interests who are just fine with the way things are going right now.””
- SupportedPappas said opponents threw money, attack ads and outright lies at his campaign every day for months.World news | The Guardian: ““They threw money, attack ads, and outright lies at us every day for months,” added Pappas”
- SupportedPappas pledged to oppose the creation of data centers and ICE detention facilities.World news | The Guardian: “With his husband Vann Bentley beside him, Pappas pledged to fight for reproductive freedom and, to even louder cheers, against the creation of data centers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.”
- SupportedSununu claimed in a recent campaign ad that he had “never met” the president.World news | The Guardian: “Sununu criticized the war in Iran, accused the administration of not doing enough to support Ukraine and even claimed in a recent campaign ad that he had “never met” the president.”