At Salem Debate, Chris Pappas Shows He’s the Only Candidate Who Will Stand Up to Donald Trump

MANCHESTER, N.H. — At this afternoon’s Southern New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce’s Candidate Night Debate, Chris Pappas again highlighted for Granite Staters that he is the only candidate in the race who will stand up to Donald Trump and lower costs. Pappas showcased his vision for a freer, fairer New Hampshire, while John Sununu not only refused to say he would vote to end the Iran War, but he took his rubber stamping of Trump to a new level by defending Pete Hegseth against pushes for accountability. 

Sununu’s move was of little surprise to those who know his record: John Sununu has already said that he’s running for Senate because this race is “important to President Trump’s agenda” and that he supports and has downplayed the worst parts of that agenda — including Trump’s war with Iran, Trump’s tariff taxes, and Trump’s cuts to health care. 

“Chris Pappas is running to lower costs and stand up to Donald Trump, and as he again made clear on the stage today, John Sununu can’t run from his own words calling this race ‘important to President Trump’s agenda,’” said Jen Hughes, Spokesperson for Chris Pappas for Senate. “Granite Staters have rejected John Sununu before and they will again, because as today’s debate made clear, Chris Pappas will fight corporate special interests while John Sununu will fight for them.”

Key highlights from this afternoon’s debate are below: 

Chris Pappas Made a Powerful Case to Voters on Why He’s Running: 

  • PAPPAS: “This is a critical midterm election where we have to reestablish checks and balances in Washington D.C. and fight every day to make progress for people all across the state of New Hampshire that are counting on us… I fought to bring solutions to New Hampshire, to invest in our infrastructure, in our water and wastewater, in our broadband and our roads and bridges. I’ve pushed for legislation to make things better for New Hampshire veterans, to expand access to care and benefits for New Hampshire’s veteran community, and to rebuild a new facility at the Manchester VA. I fought for funding for addiction and mental health. I’ve stood up for big fights, including defending a woman’s right to choose, fighting to keep our air and our water clean, and making sure that we’re getting big money out of politics and confronting the culture of corruption that exists in Washington.” 

Chris Pappas Will Lower Housing Costs 

  • PAPPAS: “Let’s take on these predatory practices. Let’s take on private equity and big companies that are gobbling up single-family homes and mobile home parks, and pricing people out of their own communities. Second, let’s make it easier to build. Let’s cut red tape. Let’s make it easier to get a project from the planning stage to the construction phase, and then to allow people to occupy it. Let’s make sure we’re incentivizing young people to be able to put a down payment on their first home. I support legislation that would give a tax credit to first-time homebuyers to be able to achieve the dream of home ownership, which for young people now, on average, is in their 40s. So we got to be doing a lot better with respect to housing.”

Chris Pappas Showed Voters He’s the Only Independent Voice For New Hampshire

  • PAPPAS: “Senator Sununu went to Washington 30 years ago. It was 1996. I was still in high school at the time, bussing tables at my family restaurant. He served in Congress, a term in the Senate, and he might still be our U.S. senator today if he actually showed the independence he was just talking about. He was down the line for George W. Bush. He supported the invasion of Iraq. He supported the privatization of Social Security, he put anti-choice judges on the bench that overturned Roe v. Wade. He voted for a massive $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, while Main Street got screwed during the housing crisis. The fact is, for the last 18 years, he’s been on corporate boards. He’s worked for one of the biggest lobbying firms in Washington D.C. that has clients like Big Pharma and the insurance industry, earning up to and having a net worth of up to $35 million. The fact is, we need someone who isn’t just seeking to ride the revolving door. We need someone who’s going to put the people of New Hampshire first, and to stand up to the recklessness of Donald Trump’s presidency. This is about who will be independent for New Hampshire.”

Chris Pappas Will Never Cut Social Security Benefits, Sununu Too Scared of Past Record

  • PAPPAS: “Senator Sununu talked about the need for transparency, but the fact is he hasn’t been transparent. Just yesterday in a forum, he said he was unwilling to discuss the details of reforms to Social Security because he was afraid of being attacked in a political campaign. This is a moment to put ideas on the table. And one thing that I will not support is a cut to benefits for New Hampshire seniors and for workers that are looking forward to retirement.” 

Even When Pushed Directly, Sununu Refuses to Take Iran War Powers Resolution Position

  • PAPPAS: “Senator Sununu has not been willing to join the effort [to end the war]. He’s been critical of late, now that we’re within weeks of the election, of the war, but he hasn’t been willing to say that he would support a war powers resolution to stop Donald Trump’s war effort and to bring our troops home.” 
  • Sununu, who has previously called the war “important and critical,” rambled in response but at no point said that he would support a War Powers Resolution to end this war.

John Sununu Defends Pete Hegseth

  • SUNUNU: “I’ve certainly had disagreements with Secretary Hegseth, but at the same time, the question’s about impeachment, and that’s something that’s extremely serious. You shouldn’t be impeached for a bad decision.” 

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