Republican John E Sununu and Democrat Chris Pappas have won their primary elections in New Hampshire and will compete for a United States Senate seat that could flip the chamber in November. Former Senator Sununu and House Representative Pappas are battling to replace outgoing Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Both candidates were strong frontrunners in their respective races.
In the House Republican primaries, Anthony DiLorenzo won in the 1st Congressional District and Lily Tang Williams won the 2nd District without much contest. Tang Williams will face House Representative Maggie Goodlander, who is running for a second term. Shaheen’s daughter, Stefany Shaheen, defeated retired Marine Maura Sullivan in a tight Democratic primary for the 1st District.
Republican Kelly Ayotte dominated the state gubernatorial race, defeating two little-known challengers. Former US senator and state attorney general Ayotte is seeking a second two-year term, running against Cinde Warmington, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won the state in the 2024 presidential election by a margin of 2.78 percentage points over President Donald Trump.
While New Hampshire has largely elected Republicans for state government and Democrats for Congress, the Grand Old Party views the race as an opportunity to gain a foothold in New England. Democrats hope to retain the seat, as they need a net gain of four seats to retake the Senate currently controlled by Republicans. The second frontrunner in the Democratic primary race, democratic socialist Karishma Manzur, failed to defeat Pappas despite gaining on him in recent weeks.
Manzur criticised Pappas for his relationship with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Sununu defeated seven opponents, including a former state senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown. Pappas sought to tie Sununu to the increasingly unpopular US President Donald Trump during his campaign.
Trump endorsed Sununu, despite the Republican candidate describing him as a “loser” during the 2024 presidential race. Stefany Shaheen won the Democratic nomination for the 1st District and will compete for the seat left open by Pappas. In the 2nd Congressional District, Democratic incumbent Goodlander defeated progressive challenger Paige Beauchemin.
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