Gay Congressman Chris Pappas Poised to Launch Senate Bid
The openly gay congressman has been holding a "listening tour" throughout New Hampshire, indicating he's considering a Senate run.
Chris Pappas, one of Congress’s few out LGBTQ members, reportedly has plans to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in April, following three-term U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s announcement that she will retire at the end of her current term in 2026.
Pappas, a Democrat who currently represents New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, recently told the Valley News about a listening tour he launched visiting all ten of New Hampshire’s counties, a step that usually precedes an official campaign announcement.
“We’re getting out there and having lots of conversations with folks in all corners of the Granite State about what the path forward should look like, and I really trust and value the feedback of this state,” Pappas told the paper. “After all, I’ve lived here my entire life. I have a small family business here. I’m grounded in the people, places, and values of New Hampshire, and I want to do what’s right for our great state and our future.”
Pappas claims he has been approached by folks asking him to seek the soon-to-be-open Senate seat, saying he wants to “get out there and people where they are to see what’s on their minds, and to see if running for Senate makes sense.”
Announcing at the beginning of the second quarter would give Pappas three months to raise cash before filing with the Federal Election Commission. FEC filings are often seen as indicative of a campaign’s strength — and can influence whether national organizations decide to invest money in a race.
According to Axios, the most recent FEC filings show Pappas ended last year with $400,000 in cash on hand, which can be transferred to his Senate campaign should he choose to run.
New Hampshire’s other congressional representative, Maggie Goodlander, a first-term member, is also considering a run, according to Axios.
If Pappas decides not to run, retired Democratic U.S. Rep. Anne McLane Kuster, who preceded Goodlander as the 2nd District representative, may enter the race, the online news outlet reported. That could potentially exacerbate some existing friction between Goodlander and Kuster, who backed a different Democrat to succeed her in the primary.
Whether or not Pappas ultimately pulls the trigger on a run, the Senate seat will likely be heavily contested, as former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu is weighing a Senate bid.
Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts for less than two years before losing to Elizabeth Warren, and, after moving to the Granite State, lost to Shaheen in the 2014 U.S. Senate race, announced he would be running as well.
“I appreciate @jeanneshaheen’s service to our state and for her support and vote for me as NH’s Ambassador to NZ and Samoa,” Brown wrote on X. “Now it’s time for New Hampshire to have someone in the delegation who fights for our priorities and stands with, not against, the Trump agenda.”
Despite 2026 being a midterm election, national Republicans are enthusiastic to see a number of swing-state Senate seats, including New Hampshire, Michigan, and Minnesota, opening up, believing they have a chance to pad their margins in the upper chamber, reports Politico.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the chair of National Republican Senatorial Committee, was practically ecstatic at news of Shaheen’s retirement earlier this month, writing on X, “Shaheen’s retirement is welcome news for Granite Staters eager for new leadership. New Hampshire has a proud tradition of electing common-sense Republicans — and will do so again in 2026!”
The National Republican Congressional Committee would likely be happy to see Pappas jump into the Senate race as well — it’s usually easier for a non-incumbent political party to win an open-seat race, regardless of the national environment.
Still, Democrats are confident they’ll hold the seat, regardless of who their party’s nominee is.
“No Republican has won a Senate race in over a decade in New Hampshire, and that trend will continue in 2026,” David Bergstein, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told Politico. “This is exactly the kind of state where the building midterm backlash against Republicans will hit their candidates especially hard.”
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