Dem congressman lashes Musk in opening salvo of populist bid in 2026 swing-state Senate race

Striking a populist theme and showcasing that he is a fighter, Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas on Thursday declared his candidacy in the 2026 race to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a fellow Democrat, in the key swing state of New Hampshire.

“What I hear from people, they want someone who shows up, someone who listens and someone who isn’t afraid to take on the big fights, and more importantly today, who knows how to win them,” Pappas said in a campaign launch video posted on social media. 

Using clips of a listening tour he made through all 10 of New Hampshire’s counties last month as he ramps up toward running for the Senate, Pappas said voters feel like “the system’s rigged.”

“You think about the Social Security office that’s going to be closed in Littleton, drastic cuts to Medicaid, all in the name of giving big tax breaks to billionaires like Elon Musk,” he argued, as he pointed to President Donald Trump’s top donor and the world’s richest person, who is leading the administration’s controversial downsizing of the federal government workforce.

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Pappas emphasized, “I do get angry, because when you’re talking about public service, you should be focused on how you can help people, how you can make people’s lives better.”

The four-term congressman, who represents the eastern half of the state, is the first major candidate in the race to succeed the 78-year-old Shaheen.

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Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history elected governor and to the Senate, announced last month that she would not seek a fourth six-year term representing New Hampshire when she is up for re-election next year. 

The seat is one of the Senate Republicans’ top targets as they aim to expand their 53-47 majority in the chamber in next year’s midterms.

For its part, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) instantly took aim at Pappas as being out of step with everyday New Hampshire voters.

“Chris Pappas supports biological males competing in women’s sports, wants to ban gas-powered vehicles, and voted to raise taxes on hard-working Granite Staters,” NRSC regional press secretary Nick Puglia charged in a statement. “Pappas is extremely out of touch, and New Hampshire families deserve better.”

Additionally, Fox News obtained a memo from the NRSC to donors making the case that the GOP can flip the seat.

“Our internal polling data in New Hampshire demonstrates a favorable political environment for Republicans in this toss-up Senate race,” the NRSC argued in the memo. “With a registration advantage, edge on the generic ballot, stronger enthusiasm among our voters, and alignment with independents on core party policy issues, Republicans are well positioned to flip this open Senate seat in New Hampshire regardless of who either party nominates.”

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In the race for the GOP Senate nomination in New Hampshire, former longtime Gov. Chris Sununu told Fox News Digital last month that he was holding a dialogue with national GOP leaders about potentially running.

Sununu, who enjoys a large national profile thanks to his regular appearances the past few years on the cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, said he expected to make a decision in the coming weeks.

However, Sununu noted that while “the door’s open” to running, he emphasized “it’s not open a lot, to be honest.”

The former governor’s comments in recent interviews are a switch from last year, when he repeatedly said he would not seek to run for the Senate in 2026.

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Four years ago, Sununu expressed interest in running for the Senate against his predecessor as governor, Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022. The popular governor was heavily courted by national Republicans to take on Hassan.

However, on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor, upsetting many Republicans in the nation’s capital. 

He also heavily criticized the Senate. “They debate and talk and nothing gets done,” he said at the time.

Sununu is not the only Republican mulling a Senate bid in New Hampshire.

Former Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who later narrowly lost to Shaheen in New Hampshire in the 2014 election, is seriously considering a 2026 run.

Brown, who served four years as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during President Donald Trump’s first administration, has been holding meetings with Republicans across New Hampshire for a couple of months and has met multiple times with GOP officials in the nation’s capital.

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Pappas may not have the Democratic Senate primary in New Hampshire all to himself.

Sources close to Rep. Maggie Goodlander in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District said last month that the first-term representative is considering a Senate run.

Pappas, in his launch video, highlighted his Granite State roots, his business background and his record on Capitol Hill.

Pappas, a former state representative and county treasurer who later served on New Hampshire’s five-member executive council before winning election to Congress in 2018 — including a re-election victory in 2022 over now-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt — hails from a family that has owned and operated the famed Puritan Backroom restaurant and conference center for over a century. 

The restaurant, in Manchester, for decades has been a must-stop for White House hopefuls campaigning in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

“I learned about serving the community, running our family business, which has been around for over 100 years, every day at the restaurant, you need to bring hard work and determination to get the job done,” Pappas highlighted in his video. 

However, Brown took to social media to take aim at Pappas, in a possible preview of a potential general election clash.

“.@ChrisPappasNH talks about being grounded in ‘New Hampshire values,’ good luck squaring that rhetoric with his record in Washington D.C. supporting wide open borders, men in women’s sports and lying to his constituents about Joe Biden’s senility,” Brown charged in his post.

The Pappas campaign says the candidate will hold a kick-off event at the Puritan Backroom later on Thursday and will stump across the state over the weekend.

Pappas, who is the first openly gay man to represent New Hampshire in Congress, currently serves on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and on the Transportation and Infrastructure committee.