A member of the Democratic Party , Chris Pappas is running for the US Senate in New Hampshire in the 2026 midterm elections. He will be competing against Republican candidate John Sununu, a former US senator, and Constitution Party candidate Edmond Laplante, after former Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen retired.
Pappas began his political career in 2003 when he was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives where he served till 2007. He later served as Hillsborough County treasurer from 2007 to 2011 and then as a member of the New Hampshire Executive Council from 2013 to 2019. In 2018, Pappas was elected to the US House of Representatives to represent New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.
He became New Hampshire’s first openly gay Congress member and was elected four times.
He attended Manchester public schools and graduated from Manchester Central High School in 1998. With 2026 midterms just a few days away, Pappas is seeking to move from the House of Representatives to the US Senate. He went on to achieve a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University . During his time at Harvard, he also wrote for the university’s student newspaper called, The Harvard Crimson. Pappas lives in Manchester with his husband Vann Bentley and their cat Dorothy. Additionally, Pappas has advocated for protecting access to abortion and also called for stronger protection of LGBTQ+ rights. He helped advance the Women’s Health Protection Act in Congress, supported measures to safeguard in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and restored special support services for LGBTQ+ people. He has even shown his support to Respect for Marriage Act , establishing protective laws for same-sex and interracial marriages. During his time in the Congress, he voted against President Donald Trump ’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included tax cuts and changes to Medicaid and other federal spending programmes. Competing against two other candidates, he has made healthcare, living costs and government reform the main focus of his campaign. After years in Congress, this race marks a new step in his political career.
In March 2026, he voted for a war powers resolution that aimed to restrict the president’s authority to conduct military operations against Iran.
Pappas supports immigration reforms that provide opportunities to those who follow legal procedures, saying “legal immigration helps make our nation stronger”. However, Pappas has also supported the efforts to counter Iran’s nuclear programme and terrorism, calling it “a terrorist state that has long fuelled death and destruction across the globe”. He has criticised the Trump administration’s immigration policies and demanded regulation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, he has also urged strengthening the borders in order to enhance security, along with improving border infrastructure and technology. Pappas opposed President Trump’s decision to launch military operations against Iran without the approval of Congress members. He argued that military action without clear objectives could lead to another conflict and that Congress should have a role when it comes to the authorization of military operations. He continued to raise concerns about the increasing energy prices.
