New Hampshire Voters Pick Senate Nominees in Race That Could Shape Control of Congress

New Hampshire voters are choosing nominees for an open Senate seat on Tuesday, setting up a contest that could prove important in the fight for control of the upper chamber.

Democrats need to gain four seats while holding every seat they currently control to win a Senate majority. New Hampshire remains part of that defensive map, even though the state has not voted Republican for president since 2000 and has not elected a Republican senator since 2010. Republicans have held the governor’s mansion since 2017, and Kamala Harris won the state by only three points in 2024.

Rep. Chris Pappas, who has represented the 1st Congressional District since 2019 and is New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress, is running in the Democratic Senate primary against Karishma Manzur, a medical scientist and Democratic Socialists of America member. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has endorsed Pappas. The race pits Pappas’s moderate profile against Manzur’s progressive platform, which includes Medicare for All and removing money from politics. Manzur is seeking an upset like the one DSA member Angie Nixon won in Florida’s Senate primary in August. Other democratic socialists have also won congressional primaries in New York and Colorado.

Republicans are choosing between former Sen. John Sununu and former Sen. Scott Brown. Sununu lost to Shaheen in 2008 and previously represented the 1st District. He is the brother of former Gov. Chris Sununu and son of former Gov. John Sununu. With former President Donald Trump’s backing, Sununu is considered the favorite.

The open 1st Congressional District is also drawing attention. Democrats have held the southeastern New Hampshire seat since 2017, but it changed party control five times after the 2006 election. Nine Democrats are competing for the nomination, including frontrunners Maura Sullivan and Stefany Shaheen. The National Republican Congressional Committee considers the district a top target.