Democrat Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire Senate race to become first out gay senator
✓Chris Pappas, the four-term Democratic congressman, has won New Hampshire’s US Senate race, making him the first out gay man to serve in the upper chamber.
Pappas, 46, is a centrist voice in the US House who has at times broken with his party on major legislation. He focused his Senate campaign on serving as a bulwark against the Trump administration, which is unpopular in the Granite State, and defeated the former senator John Sununu in a closely fought contest.
With 20% of the vote in, Sununu officially conceded to Pappas.
As screens at Pappas’ election night watch party in Manchester switched to Sununu’s concession speech, the room erupted into screams, with the crowd chanting: “LET’S GO PAPPAS!”
The race had become a late source of anxiety for Democrats, with Pappas, a moderate, locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Sununu to succeed Jeanne Shaheen, the retiring Democratic senator.
On Tuesday evening, Pappas thanked Sununu for a “very gracious” call to concede.
“Tonight’s results are a wakeup call for corporate special interests and billionaires who have been rigging the economy, for the cowards in Congress who have enabled health care cuts, tariffs, and war – and for the incompetent president who can’t even be bothered to care how people are being hurt,” Pappas said to the crowd. “Tonight, voters in New Hampshire, and all across the country, simply have had enough and are demanding a change in direction. I am ready to fight with everything I’ve got to deliver the change that we need.”
Though Pappas, a longtime Granite state elected official, was the establishment Democratic candidate, his victory speech echoed much of the rhetoric of the populist candidates that have seen success this cycle – from Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan to James Talarico in Texas – and the crowd ate it up.
With his husband Vann Bentley beside him, Pappas pledged to fight for reproductive freedom and, to even louder cheers, against the creation of data centers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.
“This was a hard-fought victory tonight,” said Pappas. “It was made even harder by the tens and tens of millions of dollars that poured into New Hampshire from Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and corporate special interests who are just fine with the way things are going right now.”
“They threw money, attack ads, and outright lies at us every day for months,” added Pappas, addressing the gathered campaign staffers, volunteers, supporters, and local Democratic officials. “But we beat them anyway, didn’t we?”
Pappas secured endorsements from several prominent Democrats and portrayed Sununu, who once called Donald Trump a “loser”, as a faux moderate who would ultimately rubber-stamp the president’s agenda. Pappas sought to capitalize on the Trump administration’s low approval ratings, highlighting a range of unpopular policies on the campaign trail, from the war against Iran to Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Meanwhile, Sununu – who represented New Hampshire in the Senate before losing his seat in 2008 – pitched himself as an independent-minded candidate. He worked to put distance between himself and Trump, despite securing the president’s endorsement. Sununu criticized the war in Iran, accused the administration of not doing enough to support Ukraine and even claimed in a recent campaign ad that he had “never met” the president.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Axios ↗ · Axios ↗ · The Hill ↗
Pappas focused campaign against Republican John Sununu on serving as a bulwark against Trump administration. US midterm elections – live updates. Track live results from all 50…
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Chris Pappas, the four-term Democratic congressman, has won New Hampshire’s US Senate race, making him the first out gay man to serve in the upper chamber.
Pappas, 46, is a centrist voice in the US House who has at times broken with his party on major legislation. He focused his Senate campaign on serving as a bulwark against the Trump administration, which is unpopular in the Granite State, and defeated the former senator John Sununu in a closely fought contest.
With 20% of the vote in, Sununu officially conceded to Pappas.
As screens at Pappas’ election night watch party in Manchester switched to Sununu’s concession speech, the room erupted into screams, with the crowd chanting: “LET’S GO PAPPAS!”
The race had become a late source of anxiety for Democrats, with Pappas, a moderate, locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Sununu to succeed Jeanne Shaheen, the retiring Democratic senator.
On Tuesday evening, Pappas thanked Sununu for a “very gracious” call to concede.
“Tonight’s results are a wakeup call for corporate special interests and billionaires who have been rigging the economy, for the cowards in Congress who have enabled health care cuts, tariffs, and war – and for the incompetent president who can’t even be bothered to care how people are being hurt,” Pappas said to the crowd. “Tonight, voters in New Hampshire, and all across the country, simply have had enough and are demanding a change in direction. I am ready to fight with everything I’ve got to deliver the change that we need.”
Though Pappas, a longtime Granite state elected official, was the establishment Democratic candidate, his victory speech echoed much of the rhetoric of the populist candidates that have seen success this cycle – from Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan to James Talarico in Texas – and the crowd ate it up.
With his husband Vann Bentley beside him, Pappas pledged to fight for reproductive freedom and, to even louder cheers, against the creation of data centers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.
“This was a hard-fought victory tonight,” said Pappas. “It was made even harder by the tens and tens of millions of dollars that poured into New Hampshire from Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and corporate special interests who are just fine with the way things are going right now.”
“They threw money, attack ads, and outright lies at us every day for months,” added Pappas, addressing the gathered campaign staffers, volunteers, supporters, and local Democratic officials. “But we beat them anyway, didn’t we?”
Pappas secured endorsements from several prominent Democrats and portrayed Sununu, who once called Donald Trump a “loser”, as a faux moderate who would ultimately rubber-stamp the president’s agenda. Pappas sought to capitalize on the Trump administration’s low approval ratings, highlighting a range of unpopular policies on the campaign trail, from the war against Iran to Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Meanwhile, Sununu – who represented New Hampshire in the Senate before losing his seat in 2008 – pitched himself as an independent-minded candidate. He worked to put distance between himself and Trump, despite securing the president’s endorsement. Sununu criticized the war in Iran, accused the administration of not doing enough to support Ukraine and even claimed in a recent campaign ad that he had “never met” the president.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Axios ↗ · Axios ↗ · The Hill ↗
Chris Pappas, the four-term Democratic congressman, has won New Hampshire’s US Senate race, making him the first out gay man to serve in the upper chamber.
Pappas, 46, is a centrist voice in the US House who has at times broken with his party on major legislation. He focused his Senate campaign on serving as a bulwark against the Trump administration, which is unpopular in the Granite State, and defeated the former senator John Sununu in a closely fought contest.
With 20% of the vote in, Sununu officially conceded to Pappas.
As screens at Pappas’ election night watch party in Manchester switched to Sununu’s concession speech, the room erupted into screams, with the crowd chanting: “LET’S GO PAPPAS!”
The race had become a late source of anxiety for Democrats, with Pappas, a moderate, locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Sununu to succeed Jeanne Shaheen, the retiring Democratic senator.
On Tuesday evening, Pappas thanked Sununu for a “very gracious” call to concede.
“Tonight’s results are a wakeup call for corporate special interests and billionaires who have been rigging the economy, for the cowards in Congress who have enabled health care cuts, tariffs, and war – and for the incompetent president who can’t even be bothered to care how people are being hurt,” Pappas said to the crowd. “Tonight, voters in New Hampshire, and all across the country, simply have had enough and are demanding a change in direction. I am ready to fight with everything I’ve got to deliver the change that we need.”
Though Pappas, a longtime Granite state elected official, was the establishment Democratic candidate, his victory speech echoed much of the rhetoric of the populist candidates that have seen success this cycle – from Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan to James Talarico in Texas – and the crowd ate it up.
With his husband Vann Bentley beside him, Pappas pledged to fight for reproductive freedom and, to even louder cheers, against the creation of data centers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.
“This was a hard-fought victory tonight,” said Pappas. “It was made even harder by the tens and tens of millions of dollars that poured into New Hampshire from Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and corporate special interests who are just fine with the way things are going right now.”
“They threw money, attack ads, and outright lies at us every day for months,” added Pappas, addressing the gathered campaign staffers, volunteers, supporters, and local Democratic officials. “But we beat them anyway, didn’t we?”
Pappas secured endorsements from several prominent Democrats and portrayed Sununu, who once called Donald Trump a “loser”, as a faux moderate who would ultimately rubber-stamp the president’s agenda. Pappas sought to capitalize on the Trump administration’s low approval ratings, highlighting a range of unpopular policies on the campaign trail, from the war against Iran to Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Meanwhile, Sununu – who represented New Hampshire in the Senate before losing his seat in 2008 – pitched himself as an independent-minded candidate. He worked to put distance between himself and Trump, despite securing the president’s endorsement. Sununu criticized the war in Iran, accused the administration of not doing enough to support Ukraine and even claimed in a recent campaign ad that he had “never met” the president.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · Axios ↗ · Axios ↗ · The Hill ↗
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
- Pappas focused campaign against Republican John Sununu on serving as a bulwark against Trump administration.
- US midterm elections – live updates.
- Track live results from all 50…