State of play: Retiring Dem senator’s daughter holds slight lead in closely watched race

Two candidates — Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Maura Sullivan, an Obama-era official — remained locked in a Democratic primary race early Wednesday morning in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.

The contested race remains too close to call as both Shaheen and Sullivan, the two frontrunners, vie for a chance to keep the district under Democratic control as its incumbent, Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., pursues higher office.

Pappas, who has represented the district since 2019, announced a bid for the U.S. Senate last year.

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“I’m honored that the people of New Hampshire have entrusted me to fight for them; I’m proud of what we have accomplished together and I’m going to continue this fight in the U.S. Senate,” Pappas said in a press release.

Incumbents often present their party’s best chance to win in competitive districts. Pappas last won reelection in a 54.0% to 45.9% victory over Republican challenger Russell Prescott, a local legislator.

The race attracted a crowd of Democratic challengers hoping to fill the open seat. In addition to Sullivan and Shaheen, eight contenders jumped into the race for the open seat, including Carleigh Beriont, a state legislator. Beriont ended the night almost ten points behind Shaheen and Sullivan but still managed to capture roughly 20% of the vote.

Although Sullivan raised more financial support, it was Shaheen who led the race for much of the night, closing out Tuesday evening with a roughly 2% lead.

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Sullivan accumulated $3.6 million in campaign contributions, outstripping Shaheen’s $2.4 million, according to records from the FEC.

But Shaheen also enjoyed the backing of her mother, who endorsed her last year.

“I’m so proud that Stefany is answering the call to serve the district she was born and raised in, where she has started a business, worked on the Portsmouth City Council and advocated for affordable health care and clean water,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement.

“She’s working hard to earn voters’ support in her own right and on her own merits — and I couldn’t be prouder to support her candidacy.”

Shaheen emphasized priorities like Medicare for All, expanding tax breaks for first-time homebuyers and overhauling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Sullivan, for her own part, pitched herself as an experienced veteran. On her campaign website, she highlighted her military service in the Marines, her work with the Obama administration in 2014 as an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and her leadership as a private sector health technology executive.

“I joined the Obama administration. I was proud to work on matters of national security, healthcare and reform to help fellow military families like mine,” Sullivan said in a campaign video.

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Sullivan’s platform includes cracking down on what she described as price gouging, bolstering the VA, opposing Trump’s tariffs and increasing federal investments in housing development.

In remarks late on Tuesday, Sullivan told her supporters the campaign was far from over.

“I feel incredibly proud of the campaign that we ran — which is far from over, by the way. There are still a lot of results to come in,”Sullivan said.

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Upon securing the nomination, either Shaheen or Sullivan will advance to the general election on Nov. 3.