On the Dover, NH ballot: U.S. Senate, general election, November 3, 2026. The race is statewide and the seat is open because Jeanne Shaheen is retiring (InDepthNH).
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Charles Pappas (Wikipedia) |
| Born | June 4, 1980, Manchester, NH (Wikipedia) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Current office | U.S. Representative, NH-1, since 2019; in his 4th term (Congress.gov) |
| Seeking | U.S. Senate; announced April 3, 2025 (Wikipedia) |
| Opponent | John E. Sununu (R), endorsed by Trump (NYT); Edmond Laplante Jr. of Richmond filed as an independent (InDepthNH) |
| Education | BA in government, Harvard, 2002 (Wikipedia) |
| Personal | Married to Vann Bentley (2023). He was NH’s first openly gay member of Congress (Wikipedia) |
| Campaign site | chrispappas.org |
| Years | Role |
|---|---|
| 2002–2006 | NH House of Representatives, Hillsborough County (Wikipedia) |
| 2007–2011 | Hillsborough County Treasurer; lost reelection in 2010 (Wikipedia) |
| — | Ran his family’s Puritan Backroom restaurant in Manchester (campaign bio) |
| 2013–2019 | NH Executive Council, District 4, for three terms (Wikipedia) |
| 2018–2024 | Won the NH-1 House seat in 2018 (over Edwards), then reelected in 2020 (Mowers), 2022 (Leavitt) and 2024 (Prescott) (Wikipedia) |
| Sept 8, 2026 | Won the Democratic Senate primary with 65%; Manzur had 32.7% (NYT results) |
| Issue | Stated position |
|---|---|
| Cost of living / housing | Build more housing, cap child care costs, cut taxes for working people (NHPR). Wants to suspend the federal gas tax (Metro Weekly) |
| Health care | Opposes the Medicaid cuts; wants the ACA premium subsidies extended (NHPR). Does not support Medicare for All (Patch) |
| Social Security / Medicare | Opposes benefit cuts (NHPR) |
| Abortion | Supports a federal law restoring abortion rights (Wikipedia) |
| LGBTQ rights | Co-sponsored the Equality Act (Wikipedia) |
| Immigration / ICE | Says immigrants must be treated “with dignity.” He targeted the “$75 billion slush fund” for ICE and wants that money put into community policing (InDepthNH) |
| Policing | Supports more federal public-safety funding for local budgets (InDepthNH) |
| Democracy / voting | Wants to overturn Citizens United and make voting easier (NHPR) |
| Iran war | Calls it a “war of choice.” Backed war-powers limits on Trump and opposes a $1.55T defense budget (Wikipedia, NHPR) |
| Israel / Gaza | Supports the U.S.–Israel alliance and a two-state solution. Wants more aid to Palestinians and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza under the ceasefire, and would limit certain arms sales (InDepthNH, Wikipedia) |
| Vote | Position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| MORE Act (cannabis), 2020 | No | Wikipedia |
| H.Res. 845, censure of Rashida Tlaib, Nov 2023 | Yes | Wikipedia |
| Laken Riley Act, Jan 2025 | Yes | NH Journal |
| FY2027 budget resolution, Jul 2026 | No | Aligned.vote |
| Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, Sept 2026 | No | Patch |
| Iran war-powers resolutions, 2026 | Yes | Wikipedia |
None found. The Free State Project invited his campaign to its 2026 Liberty Forum Senate candidate forum and had received no reply as of publication (FSP).
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total receipts | $15,384,657 |
| Individual contributions | $13,527,026 |
| Disbursements | $11,540,323 |
| Cash on hand | $4,251,918 |
Coverage: Jan 1, 2025 – Aug 19, 2026 (FEC).
| Pollster | Dates | Result |
|---|---|---|
| NYT/Siena | Sept 15–22 | Pappas 50, Sununu 45 (NYT) |
| InsiderAdvantage | Sept 16–17 | Pappas 48, Sununu 40 (NYT) |
| co/efficient | Sept 9–11 | Tied 46–46 (NYT) |
| Fabrizio Lee (R sponsor) | Aug 27–30 | Sununu 37, Pappas 36 (NYT) |
| UNH | Aug 20–24 | Sununu 45, Pappas 43 (NYT) |