Pappas wins New Hampshire Democratic Senate primary over progressive challenger

Chris Pappas won New Hampshire's Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, defeating Karishma Manzur in a race that will shape not just the state's political future but potentially the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. The contest between the two Democrats was fierce—a microcosm of a larger ideological battle playing out across the country between the party's establishment wing and its progressive flank, with control of the chamber hanging in the balance.

Pappas, a U.S. representative who has held his House seat since 2018, was the frontrunner from the moment Jeanne Shaheen, the retiring Democratic senator, announced she would not seek re-election. He brought with him the backing of unions and party establishment figures, along with support from pro-Israel advocacy groups. Manzur, by contrast, was a first-time candidate—a scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry who worked in the nonprofit sector and belonged to a local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. She surged in the final weeks of the campaign, drawing energy from a progressive movement that had notched several high-profile victories over centrist Democrats during the primary season.

The two candidates offered starkly different visions for the seat and for the party. Manzur pushed for universal health care, a $20 minimum wage, the abolition of ICE, and an end to all U.S. military aid to Israel, which she characterized as committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. She attacked Pappas relentlessly, arguing he was a corporate tool beholden to AIPAC and the wealthy interests that had funded his career. "All he wants to do is just get his little cushy job and go to D.C.," she said in an interview, accusing him of doing the bare minimum for New Hampshire. She framed his recent adoption of populist messaging as opportunistic—a desperate pivot after watching his poll numbers slip.

Pappas defended his record and his approach. He said he had been fighting to remove big money from politics since arriving in Congress, and he positioned himself as appealing to the pragmatic center of New Hampshire politics—voters between what he called the "20 and 80-yard line" on the ideological spectrum. On Israel, he acknowledged deep disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war, calling him "incredibly reckless," but he refused to abandon the U.S.-Israel relationship. "Israel's a historic ally of the United States, the only democracy in the region," he said. He argued that one could criticize Netanyahu's government while still supporting the alliance.

The primary victory sets up a general election that Democrats cannot afford to lose. Republicans have not won a Senate seat in New Hampshire in 16 years, but they see this open seat as a prime opportunity to flip it and hold their narrow Senate majority. Pappas will face either former Senator John Sununu or former Senator Scott Brown, both Republicans with statewide name recognition. The race will be among the most competitive in the country.

When asked how he would reunify the party after a bruising primary, Pappas expressed confidence in his ability to bring people together, citing his record in New Hampshire politics. He also reframed the stakes beyond the primary fight itself. "This is an election here in New Hampshire that's going to determine the balance of power in the United States Senate," he said. "Democrats won't be able to take the majority back in the U.S. Senate if they don't hold this specific seat here in New Hampshire." That calculation—that this one race in a swing state could determine which party controls the chamber—will likely dominate the general election campaign.