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Ongoing story / New Hampshire

The 2026 New Hampshire Senate race: Chris Pappas vs. John E. Sununu

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas defeated former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu in New Hampshire's 2026 Senate race, keeping the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in Democratic hands and becoming the first openly gay man elected to the US Senate.[1][2] Sununu had lost the seat to Shaheen in 2008.[2]

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Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

Sununu had lost the seat to Shaheen in 2008.[2]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-03-10 (UTC): 10%, 20 of 198 tracked outlets (6 left, 7 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-03-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-31 (UTC): 4%, 8 of 205 tracked outlets (2 left, 4 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-04-07 (UTC): 5%, 9 of 194 tracked outlets (2 left, 4 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-04-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): 4%, 5 of 137 tracked outlets (4 left, 1 center, 0 right)Week of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): 6%, 12 of 194 tracked outlets (4 left, 5 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): under 1%, 1 of 475 tracked outlets (0 left, 0 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-09-07 (UTC): 9%, 44 of 480 tracked outlets (12 left, 19 center, 13 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): 1%, 7 of 479 tracked outlets (0 left, 7 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 473 tracked outlets (2 left, 0 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 9%, 41 of 471 tracked outlets (17 left, 14 center, 10 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 3 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (10 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 202617141041 of 4719%
Oct 26, 20262013 of 4731%
Oct 19, 20260707 of 4791%
Sep 7, 202612191344 of 4809%
Aug 31, 20260011 of 475under 1%
Oct 20, 202545312 of 1946%
Jun 23, 20254105 of 1374%
Apr 7, 20252439 of 1945%
Mar 31, 20252428 of 2054%
Mar 10, 202567720 of 19810%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 3, 2026 · first reported · Headline from MLive

    New Hampshire Democrat makes history with Senate victory: ‘I’m the luckiest guy’

Background

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, a Democrat, announced in March 2025 that she would not seek reelection.[3] Rep. Chris Pappas became the first major candidate for her seat in April.[4] That month former Gov. Chris Sununu said he would not run, despite President Donald Trump's support.[5] Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown entered the Republican race in June,[6] and in October 2025 former Sen. John E. Sununu entered too, seeking the seat Shaheen had taken from him in 2008.[2]

In the September 8 primaries, Pappas held off a late surge by a democratic socialist challenger,[7][8] and Sununu became the Republican nominee after a primary campaign that included Brown.[9][7][10] Democrats moved quickly to rally around Pappas,[8] as Pappas and Sununu prepared for the general election.[9] Sununu held the seat from 2003 to 2009,.[11] The AP projected Pappas the winner on November 3.[1]

Supporting stories (11)
  1. Democrat Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire Senate race to become first out gay senator
  2. Ex-US Sen. John E. Sununu enters GOP primary race in New Hampshire for the seat he lost in 2008
  3. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen won’t seek reelection in 2026
  4. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas enters Senate race in New Hampshire
  5. Sununu decides he won’t run for Senate despite praise from Trump
  6. Scott Brown announces run for US Senate in New Hampshire
  7. New Hampshire voters pick nominees as Sen. Shaheen’s exit sparks a scramble for key seats
  8. Chris Pappas courts Democratic socialist support to keep New Hampshire Senate seat blue
  9. Sununu-Pappas Senate race shaping up to be costly, bitter
  10. The establishment strikes back in New Hampshire Senate primary
  11. With John E., New Hampshire voters consider a very different Sununu

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 12 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Democrat Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire Senate race to become first out gay senatorHeadline from The Guardian · 42 outlets

October 2026

  1. With John E., New Hampshire voters consider a very different SununuHeadline from The Boston Globe · 10 outlets

September 2026

  1. Chris Pappas courts Democratic socialist support to keep New Hampshire Senate seat blueHeadline from Washington Examiner · 1 outlet
  2. The establishment strikes back in New Hampshire Senate primaryHeadline from Blaze Media · 3 outlets
  3. New Hampshire Senate race tightens, Rhode Island governor on track to lose: 5 primaries to watchHeadline from The Hill · 1 outlet
  4. Sununu-Pappas Senate race shaping up to be costly, bitterHeadline from New Hampshire Union Leader · 39 outlets
  5. New Hampshire voters pick nominees as Sen. Shaheen’s exit sparks a scramble for key seatsHeadline from WFMZ Allentown · 13 outlets

October 2025

  1. Ex-US Sen. John E. Sununu enters GOP primary race in New Hampshire for the seat he lost in 2008Headline from Bangor Daily News · 12 outlets

June 2025

  1. Scott Brown announces run for US Senate in New HampshireHeadline from The Boston Globe · 5 outlets

April 2025

  1. Sununu decides he won’t run for Senate despite praise from TrumpHeadline from Concord Monitor · 9 outlets
  2. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas enters Senate race in New HampshireHeadline from Roll Call · 8 outlets

March 2025

  1. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen won’t seek reelection in 2026Headline from CNN · 20 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →