New Hampshire voters head to the polls Tuesday to pick party nominees for the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. The race is one of the most closely watched of the midterm cycle, with control of the Senate hanging in the balance.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Chris Pappas, who has represented the state’s 1st Congressional District since 2019 and leads the fundraising race, is the favorite to win the nomination. He faces scientist and democratic socialist Karishma Manzur, who has narrowed his lead in recent public polling.
For Republicans, former Sen. John Sununu is favored over former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. Sununu’s brother, Chris Sununu, was a highly popular governor until 2025, and the former senator is seen as a formidable general-election candidate in a difficult cycle for the GOP.
Stakes for Senate control
The outcome of the November election will determine which party controls Congress—and with it, subpoena power—for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. If Democrats flip either chamber, they are expected to launch sweeping investigations of the Trump administration, likely drawing in companies that have done business with the White House.
Democrats need to net four seats to flip the Senate, making Shaheen’s seat critical to their hopes. If Republicans can flip it, they would create a cushion that would require Democrats to win an additional seat elsewhere to take the majority.
The Democratic contest
Pappas has been endorsed by Shaheen and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and has made anti-corruption a central theme of his campaign. He has generally voted as a moderate and is a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
Manzur, who holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology, is running on a platform similar to democratic socialist candidates who have gained traction in primaries across the country. She supports universal healthcare and opposes aid to Israel.
Pappas has led throughout the race, but a recent University of New Hampshire poll showed Manzur had cut his advantage to 13 percentage points.
The Republican contest
Sununu has positioned himself as a moderate willing to work across the aisle. Trump has endorsed him, saying in a statement that the former senator “will work tirelessly to advance our America First Agenda.” But Sununu has kept the president at arm’s length in his advertising, reflecting Trump’s underwater approval ratings in the Granite State.
Brown, who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa during Trump’s first term, has cast himself as an independent and targeted “D.C. special interests” in his ads. He has trailed Sununu heavily in public polling.
Shaheen defeated both Sununu and Brown in previous Senate races, but the political environment this year is complicated by the ongoing Iran war and Trump’s sagging popularity, giving Democrats a potentially favorable map—if they can hold Shaheen’s seat.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/08/new-hampshire-primary-senate-scott-brown-john-sununu-chris-pappas-karishma-manzur.html
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