Chris Pappas
New Hampshire congressman; US Senator-elect after beating John E. Sununu in 2026.
Chris Pappas won New Hampshire's open Senate seat on 3 November 2026, beating Republican John E. Sununu 56.0% to 42.1% on NBC News's projection, after the Senate Leadership Fund spent $1.47m against him in the final week.
Last refreshed: 5 November 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Chris Pappas hold New Hampshire as Cook moves the race to Toss Up?
Timeline for Chris Pappas
Won after $1.47m of SLF spending against him
US Midterms 2026: SLF's final $43.9m: 7 of 10 targets wonMentioned in: SLF opens a $4.06m South Carolina front
US Midterms 2026Cook moves New Hampshire towards Sununu
US Midterms 2026targeted by $375,000 AFP Action opposition spending
US Midterms 2026: Koch PAC drops $6.4M in one dayBackground
Chris Pappas is a Democratic member of the US House from New Hampshire and the state's senator-elect. He won the seat Jeanne Shaheen gave up on 3 November 2026, beating former senator John E. Sununu 56.0% to 42.1% on NBC News's projection.
He entered the race when Shaheen chose not to seek re-election. Outside Republican money came early: in June 2026 Americans for Prosperity Action, the Koch network's political Arm, filed opposition spending against him as part of $6.4m it placed across five Senate states in a single day.
His win kept the seat Democratic in the year Democrats took the Senate, and its margin was wider than any rating had suggested in September.
Pappas outran a late Republican push
Pappas spent the autumn of 2026 as a target of Republican money. On 15 September Cook Political Report moved his race with Sununu from Lean Democrat to Toss Up, pointing to Republican spending on Sununu's campaign. Sununu had held the seat from 2003 to 2009 and was running for it again.
The Senate Leadership Fund spent $1.47m against Pappas from 27 October to 1 November, within a final-week outlay of $43.9m aimed almost wholly at Democrats. Pappas won by about 14 points on unofficial counts, and CBS News projected the race at 8:23pm Eastern time. The fund's late money failed against Pappas, as it did against six other Democrats it targeted that week.
Who is Chris Pappas running against for Senate?
Why did New Hampshire's Senate race move to Toss Up?
Is Jeanne Shaheen running for re-election?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 5 November 2026. Editorial standards.