Republicans Lock Up New Hampshire Senate Race After Primaries

The Republican party is looking to seize ground in New England while Democrats fight hard to keep their grip on key Senate seats. In New Hampshire, former Senator John Sununu and Representative Chris Pappas have both won their primaries and are now locked in a battle for the United States Senate seat that could flip control of the chamber this November. These two strong frontrunners will replace outgoing Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen after they each cleared their respective races without much trouble from rivals.

The House Republican contests saw Anthony DiLorenzo take the 1st Congressional District and Lily Tang Williams win the 2nd District with minimal opposition. In that second district, Tang Williams will now face incumbent Maggie Goodlander who is seeking a second term. Meanwhile Stefany Shaheen, daughter of Jeanne Shaheen, beat retired Marine Maura Sullivan in a tight Democratic primary for the first district seat.

Republican Kelly Ayotte swept the state gubernatorial race by defeating two little-known challengers easily. This former US senator and state attorney general wants another two-year term while running against Cinde Warmington who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Former Vice President Kamala Harris previously won this state in 2024 by a margin of 2.78 percentage points over President Donald Trump.

New Hampshire has mostly elected Republicans to state offices and Democrats to Congress, yet the GOP sees this Senate race as a chance to build a foothold in New England. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to retake the Senate currently controlled by Republicans so they can hold onto their position here. Karishma Manzur, a democratic socialist who was the second frontrunner in the Democratic primary, failed to beat Pappas despite gaining on him in recent weeks. She criticized his relationship with AIPAC as her main complaint during the campaign trail.

Sununu defeated seven opponents including Scott Brown, a former state senator from Massachusetts, to reach this final showdown. At a victory party Sununu called Pappas ineffective and partisan while also saying he is out of touch with New Hampshire voters who are struggling daily. Pappas tried to link Sununu to Donald Trump during his campaign even though Trump endorsed him despite the Republican candidate calling him a loser in 2024. While families across Granite State struggle to make ends meet, Sununu has thrown his lot in with policies that cater to big corporations and billionaires while making life harder for locals according to Pappas.

Stefany Shaheen won the Democratic nomination for the first district seat and will compete against whoever replaces her father in the general election next month. In the second congressional district Goodlander defeated progressive challenger Paige Beauchemin who ran as a strong candidate against the status quo. Tang Williams won the Republican primary in her third attempt for this seat and was already the GOP nominee in 2024 elections before winning again now. Political newcomer DiLorenzo beat three other candidates without much difficulty after receiving an endorsement from Trump to help his cause go forward.

Voters across Rhode Island head to the polls tomorrow for what many call their most closely watched election this cycle right now. Governor Dan McKee faces voter dissatisfaction and low job approval ratings as he stands against challenger Helena Foulkes who challenged him in 2022 gubernatorial primary elections months ago. Foulkes has led in polls by double digits for months while trying to unseat the current governor who is struggling with public support levels. Harris won Rhode Island in 2024 presidential election with a lead of 13.7 percentage points over Donald Trump who lost that state badly last year.