Pappas and Sununu win New Hampshire Senate primaries; open Shaheen seat set for November
NEW · Wed. 3 p.m. EDT
On Tuesday night, Associated Press and major networks projected Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas and Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu as winners of New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate primaries for the seat retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is leaving. Pappas defeated scientist and DSA-aligned challenger Karishma Manzur; Sununu defeated former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown after a Trump primary endorsement. Both parties treat the open seat as material to Senate control on Nov. 3. Early tallies showed Pappas leading roughly in the low-to-mid 60s and Sununu near 70% as projections were called. Ads and super-PAC spots from both sides were already in the air before the primary night.
The New Hampshire State House in Concord. File photograph; not from Tuesday’s primary night.
Jared C. Benedict / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Center-left view
NBC News, NHPR, and Roll Call emphasize Democratic confidence that Trump has never carried New Hampshire, that Republicans have not won a Senate race there since 2010, and Senate Majority PAC’s line that GOP optimism is “wish-casting” even as both sides call the race competitive.
Center-right view
Fox News, the Washington Examiner, and the Concord Monitor highlight the open seat as a must-hold for Democrats and a top GOP flip chance, Sununu’s landslide with Trump’s primary endorsement, and late UNH polling that had shown Sununu with a narrow edge over Pappas before primary night.
Sources: Fox News · Washington Examiner · Concord Monitor