The Nashua Independent — Pappas: Housing Crunch, Health Costs and War Abroad are Squeezing New Hampshire Families

NASHUA, N.H. — In case you missed it, The Nashua Independent recently highlighted Congressman Chris Pappas’s focus on lowering costs and tackling the challenges facing hardworking Granite Staters in his campaign for U.S. Senate. 

The article underscores what Chris is hearing in every county: families are being squeezed by rising costs. Health care, housing, child care, groceries, and energy bills continue to climb, making every day harder for hardworking New Hampshire families. As voters look for a new generation of leadership in Washington, Chris is focused on lowering costs, cutting taxes, restoring checks and balances, and taking on corruption in Washington so every New Hampshire family has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead.

Read the article here and below.

The Nashua Independent: Pappas: Housing Crunch, Health Costs and War abroad are squeezing New Hampshire Families

By Dan Splaine, 6/22/26

  • U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas and U.S. Senate candidate told The Nashua Independent on Saturday that high costs, global instability and attacks on LGBTQ rights are top of mind as he makes his case to voters in Nashua.
  • Emphasizing affordability and “hungry for change”
  • Pappas said he is “hopeful” about his election campaign because he believes Granite Staters are “hungry for change” and want someone “who’s going to go to bat for New Hampshire” in Washington. He pointed to high gas prices, soaring health care costs and what he called a housing crisis “out of control” as the day‑to‑day pressures driving voter frustration. Those problems, he argued, stem from “bad policies” that deepen economic inequality and “set our country backwards,” and he cast himself as someone focused on forcing solutions rather than accepting the status quo.
  • Pitch to Nashua voters
  • The Manchester native represents the 1st congressional district and will appear for the first time on a ballot in Nashua for November’s senate election. Pappas said his approach doesn’t change from Manchester to Nashua or any other community in the state. He described himself as attentive to local needs and “rooted in our Main Street economy as a small business owner” who wants to “deliver for New Hampshire.”
  • Pappas cited U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen as a model for his own style of representation, praising the way she understands conditions on the ground and brings back federal resources for “smart investments.” He said many families feel like they are “doing everything right” but are still falling behind while “corporate special interests and the billionaire class” dominate attention in Washington.
  • Critique of war with Iran and its local impact
  • Pappas called the recent conflict with Iran “a colossal political failure” and “one of the most strategic failures we’ve experienced as a country,” arguing that the president could have foreseen the fallout by listening to regional experts. He said risks such as a potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, global energy volatility, higher gas prices at home and the loss of American service members were predictable consequences. According to Pappas, the war has left Americans “paying the price directly” without making the United States safer and has instead emboldened Iran’s “radical regime,” which he said has now replaced one ayatollah with “a younger one that’s even more of a fundamentalist.”
  • He also criticized a memorandum of understanding he said would inject “hundreds of billions of dollars” into the Iranian government, making it harder for democracy to take root by propping up a dangerous regime. Pappas argued that Congress must “rein in the power of the president” to launch such conflicts without provocation or a direct threat.
  • Pride, inclusion and political attacks on LGBTQ people
  • The Nashua Independent interviewed the congressman when he attended the Nashua Pride Festival on Saturday. Pappas described the day as an opportunity for New Hampshire residents to recognize that “people live their lives differently, but we’re all in the same family.” He said the state is “stronger as a result of the diversity that exists in our society” and noted that New Hampshire has taken “strides” to include everyone.
  • At the same time, he condemned what he called “really cynical political attacks” on the LGBTQ community and said he believes “we’re better than that as a state and as a country.” Pride, he added, is about making sure people know they are supported and “charting a future together that empowers everyone” to live their own life, arguing that “we’re all better off” when that is possible.

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