Pappas wins New Hampshire Senate race, keeps seat Democratic

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas defeated former Republican Sen. John Sununu in New Hampshire’s closely fought Senate race, keeping the seat in Democratic hands after Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s retirement, CBS News projected.

Pappas, 46, has represented New Hampshire in the House since 2019. He campaigned as an independent voice for the state while arguing that Sununu, despite his moderate image, would support President Donald Trump’s agenda. Sununu, 62, sought a return to the Senate seat he lost to Shaheen in 2008.

The contest tightened late in the campaign. Pappas, a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, has at times broken with his party on major legislation, The Guardian reported. He also made opposition to the Trump administration a focus of his Senate bid, highlighting the war in Iran and Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He secured endorsements from several prominent Democrats.

Sununu presented himself as an independent-minded Republican, even after receiving Trump’s endorsement. He criticized the war in Iran and said the administration was not doing enough to support Ukraine, according to The Guardian. In a campaign ad, Sununu pushed back against Pappas’ efforts to link him to the president.

“The way Chris Pappas tells it, I’m President Trump’s long-lost son. I’ve never even met the man,” Sununu said in the ad. He promised that “when the president’s policies are bad for New Hampshire, I’ll oppose them.” Pappas, for his part, portrayed Sununu — who once called Trump a “loser” — as a candidate whose claims of independence would not hold up in office.

Sununu brought a well-known political name to the race. His father, John H. Sununu, and his brother, Chris Sununu, both served as New Hampshire governor. Sununu himself represented the state in the House and Senate for more than a decade before Shaheen defeated him.

For Republicans, the open seat offered one of their few opportunities to gain a Senate seat this election cycle, CBS News reported. New Hampshire has not elected a Republican senator since 2010 or backed a Republican presidential candidate since 2000, though Republicans have held the governor’s office since 2017. CBS News reported that the war in Iran and high gas and diesel prices had made a number of Republican Senate races more competitive than expected.

Pappas’ victory preserves a key Democratic seat as the party looks for gains in other races that could give it a Senate majority. He will be the first openly gay man to serve in the U.S. Senate, according to The Guardian.