Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire Senate race, keeping seat in Democratic hands

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas has won the Senate race in New Hampshire, defeating former Republican Sen. John Sununu, CBS News projects. The result keeps the seat in Democratic control following the retirement of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

Pappas, 46, has represented New Hampshire in the House since 2019 and is a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. He ran as an independent voice for the state while facing a rival with one of the most recognized names in New Hampshire politics.

Sununu, 62, is the son of former Gov. John H. Sununu and the brother of former Gov. Chris Sununu. He had spent more than a decade representing New Hampshire in the House and Senate before Shaheen defeated him in 2008, and this campaign was an attempted comeback to the upper chamber.

Republicans had viewed the contest as one of their few realistic pickup opportunities this cycle. New Hampshire has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 2010, and no Republican has carried the state at the presidential level since 2000, though the GOP has held the governor's office since 2017.

The party's hopes rested on Sununu even as other Republican Senate candidates found themselves in unexpectedly tight races, weighed down by the unpopular war in Iran and high gas and diesel prices. Sununu worked to put distance between himself and President Trump throughout the campaign.

In a spot released late in the race, Sununu said, "The way Chris Pappas tells it, I'm President Trump's long-lost son. I've never even met the man." He pledged independence from the White House, declaring that "when the president's policies are bad for New Hampshire, I'll oppose them."

In the end, that effort was not enough to overcome the strong headwinds facing Republicans this year.

Pappas' projected victory allows Democrats to retain a key seat as the party looks toward possible flips in several other races that could tip the balance of power and deliver a Democratic majority in the Senate.