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The candidates for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat — Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas and Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu — sparred in a debate Wednesday evening.
New Hampshire has leaned blue in national races, but has a history of close elections and a lot of independent voters.
Sununu was endorsed by President Trump, but has distanced himself from some Trump policies, a theme he continued Wednesday. He criticized Mr. Trump’s handling of the Iran war and tariffs, and called Maine Sen. Susan Collins a “great model” for a Republican who stands up to Mr. Trump. He said: “I’ve never hesitated to stand up when I think it’s right for New Hampshire.”
Sununu argued Pappas — who has served in the House since 2019 — is overly partisan, saying at one point that on inflation, “you’ve been part of the problem for eight years.” He jabbed Sununu for campaigning with former Vice President Kamala Harris, a California native, and Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying, “I don’t know what Chris’s infatuation is with California.” In response, Pappas said, “Here in New Hampshire, we welcome out-of-town guests.”
Pappas argued Sununu was far less critical of the Iran war in its early stages, saying Sununu “cheered it on from the beginning” and “now he’s changing his tune.” He also suggested Sununu had downplayed the impact of the Trump tariffs.
More broadly, Pappas repeatedly dinged Sununu for the Trump endorsement and emphasized the importance of “changing the balance of power in the Senate” by winning a Democratic Senate majority. He questioned how independent of Mr. Trump Sununu really is and said “we need leadership that’s not just going to say a few nice things before an election.” At one point he said: “The guy who gave you his complete and total endorsement is wrecking New Hampshire’s Main Street economy, and we deserve a senator who’s going to stand up and fight back.”
They also scuffled over Social Security. When Sununu was in the Senate in the 2000s, he cosponsored a bill that would voluntarily shift some people’s Social Security savings to private investment accounts. Pappas called it an attempt to privatize Social Security and said it “would have taken people out of the system.” Sununu denied that, saying Pappas’ attack was “designed to scare senior citizens, and that’s just wrong.”
On immigration, Pappas criticized former President Joe Biden because he “let things get out of control on the Southern border” but called for a “balanced approach” to enforcement. Sununu said people who have committed crimes should be prioritized, but “it’s worth emphasizing the incredible achievement of providing secure borders in a way that we haven’t had in decades.”
