Democrat Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire Senate race, set to be first openly gay male senator

Pappas wins the open seat

Democrat Chris Pappas won the New Hampshire Senate race on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, defeating Republican John E. Sununu, a former senator. The Associated Press and major American television networks projected his victory, and Sununu conceded defeat. Pre-election polls had forecast a tight contest, while some reports described the margin as sweeping. An NBC exit poll, cited by a Greek outlet, put Pappas at 91% support among LGBTQ voters.

Pappas will succeed Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who is retiring after 18 years in the upper chamber of Congress. He takes office in 2027. Sununu had lost the same seat to Shaheen in 2008 and was trying to return to the Senate.

A first that was not the campaign's focus

If the projections hold, Pappas, who is 46, would become the first openly gay man in the Senate. He rarely raised that milestone on the trail, and in interviews he said he preferred that attention stay on voters rather than on himself. His husband, Van Bentley, attended some of his campaign events. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin became the first openly gay person elected to the Senate in 2012, so Pappas would be the first man to have publicly declared his sexuality and then won a Senate seat. New Hampshire legalised same-sex marriage in 2009, and supporters of LGBTQ rights welcomed the result as a sign of progress.

Campaign on prices, health care and Iran

Pappas centred his message on the cost of living, the cost of health care and opposition to corruption in Washington, the themes most Democrats stressed. He criticised the American war against Iran and cuts to Medicaid, the federal health insurance programme aimed mainly at low-income people. His candidacy was presented as a way to limit President Donald Trump's influence over Congress in a state where Trump faces high dissatisfaction. Sununu tried to present himself as an independent from the White House despite having Trump's electoral backing. He also criticised the American military action against Iran and the administration's stance on support for Ukraine. In one campaign advertisement, Sununu claimed he had never met Trump.

Background in Manchester

Pappas was born on 4 June 1980 and grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire, in a family of Greek descent. His family runs the Puritan Backroom restaurant, founded in 1917. Skai reports that his grandfather, Charlie Pappas, a co-owner at the time, claimed in 1974 to have invented the chicken tender. Pappas graduated from Manchester Central High School and then from Harvard, earning his degree in 2002. That same year he was elected to the New Hampshire House, and he later served as Hillsborough County treasurer and on the state's Executive Council. He won a US House seat in 2018 and took office in January 2019 representing the state's 1st district. He has won four House elections.

Concession and what comes next

Sununu conceded by telephone, and Pappas thanked him in his victory speech for a courteous call. Standing with his husband, Pappas told supporters the result was a warning to corporate special interests and billionaires. He also criticised members of Congress for allowing health care cuts, tariffs and wars, and he targeted the president's handling of how ordinary people are affected. Pappas will take the Senate seat in 2027, after Shaheen's retirement.