ROUNDUP: Granite Staters Rally Behind Congressman Chris Pappas

September 18, 2026

MANCHESTER, N.H. — With the November 3rd general election less than 50 days away, Granite Staters are making their voices heard in local papers about what’s at stake in the U.S. Senate race — from fighting corruption and dark money to lowering costs and standing up for working families.

In recent letters to the editor, voters and community leaders are highlighting Congressman Chris Pappas’s record of putting Granite Staters first and taking on powerful special interests to deliver for them. They’re also calling out his Trump-endorsed opponent John Sununu, who is running for Senate to be a rubber stamp for the MAGA agenda, for benefitting from outside groups pouring dark money into this race on his behalf.

By Bill Black

The 2026 United States Senate race in New Hampshire is critical for control of the Senate and the future of democracy.

The Democratic candidate, U.S. Congressman Chris Pappas, is a strong advocate for campaign finance reform. In 2023, he voted for the Freedom to Vote Act, which would increase access to voting and the transparency of political spending. The bill passed the House, but a Senate Republican filibuster killed it. Pappas is also the primary House sponsor of the Disclose Act, which would require more timely and complete disclosure of political spending. If elected to the Senate, he would reintroduce the Democracy for All Amendment. This bill would restore the limitations on political spending by corporations and individuals that were abolished by the 2010 Supreme Court “Citizens United” decision.

This disastrous decision led to the creation of super PACS and an explosion of billionaire spending on elections and lobbying. Much of this spending is through dark money groups with misleading names, such as “Citizens United,” which represents right-wing billionaires, not ordinary citizens. These billionaires do not want a democratic form of government with fair taxation. They want lower taxes for themselves, fewer environmental regulations, and cuts to government services.

The Republican candidate, John E. Sununu, is a former U.S. Senator and brother of former NH Governor Chris Sununu, who opposed the bipartisan N.H. legislation to overturn Citizens United. John Sununu is endorsed by President Donald Trump and Republican N.H. House leaders Jason Osborne and Joe Sweeney, who are both members of the Free State Project. The Project is closely affiliated with the Koch network, which orchestrated the 2010 Supreme Court decision.

Pappas has raised more money in New Hampshire than Sununu, but they are close in the polls. In addition, the Republican Senate super PAC has pledged to spend $7 million more on the race than the Democratic counterpart. Sununu may also have access to some of Trump’s $400 million MAGA Inc and Elon Musk’s $100 million America PAC.

To flip the US Senate and reform our corrupt campaign finance system, NH voters must choose Pappas for U.S. Senator on Nov. 3.

Concord Monitor: Letter: End corruption vote for Pappas

By David Pollak

Congressman Chris Pappas was a gracious winner in the U.S. Senate primary, thanking and complimenting his opponent, but personal courtesy isn’t why he has earned my vote. It was his pledge to take on corruption in Washington.

Specifically, Pappas promised to author legislation banning stock trading by members of Congress. For too long, lawmakers have traded individual stocks in industries they regulate, using insider knowledge to enrich themselves while regular families face the consequences. It creates a glaring conflict of interest and destroys public trust in our institutions.

A stock trading ban won’t fix every political issue overnight, but it is an important step toward institutional integrity.

From reducing prices to expanding healthcare access and from strengthening our democracy to supporting Ukraine, there is a litany of urgent issues Congress must address. Banning congressional stock trading is a small step in the morass that is Washington, but it is a good place to start.

I will be voting for Chris Pappas in November.

Union Leader: Letter: Pappas fights for people, not the Trump cabal

By Rep. Susan Almy

To the Editor: Chris Pappas came to the state legislature—to my revenue committee—just out of Harvard with a degree in government. He didn’t mention it. He was really good at looking at all sides of an issue, but focusing on what the bill would do to or for ordinary people, not the wealthy. Working in his family’s restaurant taught him that.

Pappas moved to the House budget committee, took his turn running the restaurant and being chief greeter, and then ran for Congress and won four times. What he was doing, besides creating good legislation, was learning how to get the entrenched, older politicians in the U.S. House and Senate to pay more attention to ordinary people’s issues and constraints. That included learning how to raise campaign money; the U.S. House and Senate listen more to those who raise large sums. He’s raising a lot more now because most of our voters have very busy lives and get limited information to make their decisions—and most of that information is provided by the campaigns. Remember, this is campaign money, and it cannot be spent on personal enrichment.

Our voters this year will be choosing between John E. Sununu, a man who parlayed his U.S. Senate term to enrich himself further and is now coming back for more, and Chris Pappas, who has taught himself how to get good legislation passed in Congress for the ordinary people he comes from.

Please join me in voting for Chris Pappas.

Concord Monitor: Letter: Is our government ‘of, by, and for the people’?

By Dan Weeks

It sure doesn’t seem that way.

Right now, billionaires and corporate special interests — from big tech to big oil — are using their deep pockets to essentially buy election outcomes. But Granite Staters will not be silenced by dark money. We will have our voices heard in this election.

I’ve known Congressman Chris Pappas for two decades. If anyone has the integrity, commitment and know-how to fix our broken campaign finance system, it’s him.

Chris doesn’t take a dime of corporate PAC money. He introduced the bipartisan CLEAN Act to demand ethical conduct in Congress and the DISCLOSE Act to stop billionaires and corporate interests from secretly funneling millions of dollars into our elections. He even broke with Democratic House leadership to support a ban on congressional stock trading and he backs the No Getting Rich in Congress Act.

Chris is running for U.S. Senate to be our voice in Washington. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of his opponent. John Sununu has spent his career cashing in with corporate special interest groups and getting very rich in the process. Lately he has been cozying up to Donald Trump and his billionaire friends. He is woefully out of touch with everyday Granite Staters.

Chris’s commitment to tackling political corruption is clear. Once we elect him to the Senate in November, I know he’ll continue fighting to make our government once again be of, by and for the people.

Concord Monitor: Letter: Pappas fights to feed NH kids

By Jim O’Connell

In a classroom of 21 New Hampshire students, on average, three of them are going home to hunger.

Many of these children can receive free or reduced-price school meals during the day, but it’s heartbreaking as a parent and school board member to know that our learners are facing something so big and scary outside their classroom walls.

Food insecurity is rising in New Hampshire and across the country. Nearly 42% of households that rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have children. For many families, SNAP is the difference between stability and crisis, helping parents put food on the table.

Yet these benefits have been decimated by Republican-led cuts in Donald Trump’s Big Ugly Bill: New Hampshire SNAP enrollment has dropped by nearly 2,000 and 8,000 Granite State families are at risk of losing benefits in the next few years.

Congressman Chris Pappas is committed to protecting SNAP and supporting hardworking families. He has cosponsored legislation to keep SNAP funded, restore food security for American families and farmers, and ensure Americans are fed even during government shutdowns because he believes that children having food on their plates shouldn’t be political. As someone who grew up in Manchester public schools, he understands how important it is for students to come to school nourished and ready to learn.

All of our children deserve leaders who see them, hear them and fight for them. That’s why I support Chris Pappas for U.S. Senate.

Union Leader: Letter: We need new generation more than another Sununu

By Elliot Most

To the Editor: Chet Hanks. Jeb Bush. John E. Sununu — what do these names all have in common?

They’re all nepo babies, overshadowed by their better-known relatives.

John E. Sununu seems determined to make sure New Hampshire voters remember the family name while forgetting which Sununu is on the ballot. There’s a reason he’s leaving his first name off campaign signs: he’s hoping voters see his last name and assume the more popular, more recognizable Chris Sununu is running for U.S. Senate.

If Sununu thinks he can coast into the U.S. Senate on a famous last name, he’s in for a rude awakening.

In New Hampshire, we do our homework. We ask tough questions. And we’re tired of political dynasties treating public office like a family business.

We don’t need another Sununu. We need a new generation of leadership.

Chris Pappas knows what it means to grow up working in New Hampshire. He washed dishes and bussed tables at his family’s restaurant, learning early that nothing comes easy.

Pappas has built a coalition of Democrats, independents, and pro-democracy Republicans from the ground up and has consistently won one of the swingiest congressional districts in the country. He earned his seat by showing up, listening to his neighbors, and delivering for New Hampshire.

This November, Granite Staters have a choice: a tired Sununu political dynasty, or a new generation of leadership.

I’ll choose the guy who knows what it means to serve New Hampshire — from the Puritan ice cream counter to Congress.

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