Chris Pappas

Democratic candidate for United States Senator, New Hampshire · Open seat

U.S. Representative for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District; co-owner of his family's Puritan Backroom Restaurant in Manchester

Chris Pappas is a Democrat who has represented New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House since 2019. Before that, he served on the New Hampshire Executive Council. He announced his run for the open seat of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on April 3, 2025, filed on June 8, 2026, and won the Democratic primary on September 8, 2026, with about 65% of the vote against Karishma Manzur.

Where Pappas stands

Cost of living / energy: Proposes suspending the federal gas tax and adding $1 billion to LIHEAP, the federal program that helps low-income households pay for home heating.
Housing: Supports federal funding for towns that reform local zoning to allow new housing, such as tiny homes and mixed-use development. Supports bipartisan legislation to limit Wall Street purchases of single-family homes.
Tariffs and trade: Calls for 'getting rid of these reckless tariffs.' Says they have raised costs for households and created uncertainty for small businesses.
Immigration and border security: Opposes abolishing ICE. Supports more border patrol resources and technology at checkpoints to stop fentanyl, and backs modernizing the immigration system.
Campaign finance: Supports reining in dark money and limiting the influence of Citizens United. Has made limiting big money in politics part of his Senate campaign.
Abortion: Opposes a federal abortion ban. Supports restoring Roe v. Wade protections nationally.
Social Security and Medicare: Opposes privatizing Social Security or means-testing its benefits. Supports strengthening Social Security and Medicare.
Federal deficit: Supports a bipartisan commission to identify ways to reduce the deficit. Says large corporations and the wealthy should pay their 'fair share.'
War powers / foreign policy: Said the military operation to capture Venezuela's Maduro should have had Congressional approval. Opposes U.S. involvement in open-ended nation-building.
Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan: Supports continued U.S. security assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Introduced legislation to speed delivery of resources to Taiwan.

Background

U.S. Representative, New Hampshire 1st District, 2019–present
Member, New Hampshire Executive Council (before 2019)
Co-owner, Puritan Backroom Restaurant, Manchester (family business)
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, won primary September 8, 2026

In the news

Program Alert: NHPR and Granite State News Collaborative cancel Senate forum NHPR, October 22, 2026
A Trump-backed Senate nominee is now backing Democrat Chris Pappas in New Hampshire Axios, October 15, 2026
U.S. Senate Candidates John Sununu and Rep. Chris Pappas Speak At Forum in Salem InDepthNH.org, October 14, 2026
A political Rorschach test: Pappas's DC record is up for interpretation in Senate race NHPR, October 13, 2026
Transcript: Rep. Chris Pappas on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Oct. 11, 2026 CBS News, October 11, 2026

Also running for United States Senator

John E. Sununu Republican
Edmond J. Laplante, Jr. Constitution

Sources

Last researched October 23, 2026. Written in neutral language from the sources above. Spot an error? See how to report it.