WBUR — “Champion of the Middle Class” Pappas Takes on Trump-backed Sununu in “Crucial Must-Win” U.S. Senate Race

MANCHESTER, N.H. — In case you missed it, WBUR recently highlighted New Hampshire’s high-stakes Senate matchup between “champion of the middle class” Congressman Chris Pappas and Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate former Senator John Sununu, in a contest that “will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.”

As WBUR notes, “Pappas is running as a champion of the middle class, focusing on bringing down the cost of living, supporting public education and protecting Medicaid and Social Security.” Boasting a strong record advocating for veterans, substance abuse treatment, housing and government accountability, Pappas is a proven fighter emerging victorious “four times in a notoriously “swingy” district.”

Meanwhile, former Senator John Sununu spent the last 17 years earning millions in corporate board rooms after selling out Granite Staters and then cashing in with the same corporate special interests he served in Washington. Now, Sununu’s relying on “national Republican super PACs, who have already spent millions of dollars backing his campaign” to become the latest rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s agenda.

Read more below:

WBUR: New Hampshire has a key U.S. Senate race — without the extremes of other states

By Anthony Brooks, 8/11/26

  • At a recent gathering of Democrats, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas ticked off a list of afflictions he blames on the Trump administration: tariffs, higher prices, an unpopular war. Then he reached back to World War II history to define the challenge facing his party.
  • “Winston Churchill used to say, ‘When you’re going through hell, keep going,’ ” Pappas said. “We’ve got to keep going, and if we do that, New Hampshire’s going blue in 2026, mark my words,” he declared to cheers.
  • Pappas is the leading Democratic candidate in New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race, a contest to replace his fellow Democrat, Jeanne Shaheen, who is retiring. Since 2009, he has represented the state’s 1st Congressional District, which encompasses the eastern part of the state, including the Seacoast and Manchester, New Hampshire’s largest city.
  • The top Republican contender in the race is John Sununu, a former U.S. senator running to re-claim the seat he lost to Shaheen in 2008.
  • In November’s midterm elections, New Hampshire is among a handful of states that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. […]
  • “The New Hampshire Senate race is just as important as any of the races in these other crucial must-win states for both parties,” said Neil Levesque, director of the Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. 
  • […]
  • Pappas is running as a champion of the middle class, focusing on bringing down the cost of living, supporting public education and protecting Medicaid and Social Security. Democrats are rightfully excited about the possibility of flipping seats in states like Maine, North Carolina and Ohio, he said, but they also need to hold states like New Hampshire.
  • Both of the state’s U.S. senators, the retiring Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, are Democrats. But New Hampshire’s recent history suggests this isn’t a lock for the party.
  • “These are the only two people who have been elected as Democrats to the Senate from New Hampshire in the last half a century,” Pappas told WBUR, calling the coming election “a game of inches.”
  • “We just want to make sure people understand that this is a tough, key fight,” he said.
  • […]
  • [Sununu]’s being helped by national Republican super PACs, who have already spent millions of dollars backing his campaign.
  • […]
  • Sununu spent the last 16 years working in business and as a corporate lobbyist […]
  • Pappas [says] he’s authored and sponsored numerous bills, advocating for veterans, substance abuse treatment, housing and government accountability. The congressman has won four times in a notoriously “swingy” district and is now running against the backdrop of a highly unpopular president.
  • Pappas said sending Sununu to Washington would only help Trump’s agenda.
  • “He’s adding tariffs. He’s cutting healthcare. He’s driving up our gas prices. He’s taking us to war in places we don’t belong,” Pappas said. “John Sununu is going to be another vote for an agenda that’s making lives bad for New Hampshire families.”
  • “John E. Sununu has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” he posted.
  • […]
  • Polls show Sununu and Pappas are heavily favored to win their primaries on Sept. 8, setting up one of several pivotal races across the country.
  • And it’s likely to be close, according to Levesque, of St. Anselm. He’s expecting it to be decided by “a razor’s edge.”

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