By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-08 04:51:48 | Updated at 2026-09-08 06:05:26
1 hour ago
CONCORD—New Hampshire voters will head to the polls to decide which two candidates will battle it out for the crucial Senate seat currently held by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
Also on the ballot are nominees for the U.S. House of Representatives, the office of governor, and other state offices.
Republicans will choose between former U.S. Sens. John Sununu and Scott Brown and six other candidates vying for the Republican nomination.
Sununu previously served one term as a New Hampshire senator after winning against then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in 2002. She then took the seat in a contest against Sununu in 2008.
Brown, on the other hand, was elected to serve out the three remaining years of the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy’s final term for Massachusetts.
However, he was unable to take on a full term in the 2012 election. Brown moved to New Hampshire and challenged Shaheen in 2014, which he narrowly lost.
Brown endorsed President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign, and the president later appointed Brown to serve as the ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa during his first term.
In this election, however, Trump has backed Sununu, despite Sununu’s endorsement of Trump rival Nikki Haley in the 2024 election.
Sununu’s campaign has been more fruitful, outraising Brown by $4.1 million to $2.2 million.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) is the frontrunner and has garnered support from former Vice President Kamala Harris and many state Democrats, including Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and former Gov. John Lynch.
The lawmaker has served in the House since 2019 and has held public office consistently since graduating from college in 2002.
He defeated former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, defending his position in the House during the 2022 election.
Four other candidates also hope to take the Democratic nomination, including progressive activist and Democratic Socialist Karishma Manzur.
Polling from the University of New Hampshire shows that Pappas still held the lead, as of the end of August.
Shaheen, who is 79, announced in March 2025 that she wouldn’t seek reelection. She was the first woman to serve as both governor and senator in the United States.
Counting the seat Shaheen is leaving, Republicans are seeking to pick up three seats where Democrats plan to retire. Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) are also leaving open opportunities.
Additionally, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) is expected to face a heated race and is the only Democrat up for reelection in a state that Trump won in 2024. He faces Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) in the general election this November.
Pappas also leaves open a spot in the House to represent the 1st Congressional District, where seven active candidates all hope to take the seat. Among the Democratic candidates is Portsmouth City Council member Stefany Shaheen, daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
On the Republican side are state Rep. Brian Cole, auto dealership owner Anthony DiLorenzo, and structural steel fabrication company CEO Hollie Noveletsky.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican who has held the office since 2025, has little challenge among Republicans. She will face off against Democrat Cinde Warmington in November.
Ayotte previously served as a senator from New Hampshire from 2011–2017 and was the state attorney general from 2004–2009.
New Hampshire has nearly 900,000 registered voters, and the largest segment identifies itself as “undeclared.” About 300,000 voters identify as Republican, 247,000 as Democrats, and 352,000 as undeclared.
During the last midterm election, fewer than 150,000 Republicans and around 96,000 Democrats cast ballots. In the 2024 state primaries, fewer Republicans (135,000) and more Democrats (118,000) voted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
