Key swing state voters to settle dueling Senate primary fights in crucial open-seat race

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Democratic and Republican Senate nominations are up for grabs on Tuesday in swing state New Hampshire, in a race that may determine if Republicans keep control of the chamber in the midterm elections.

Socialist-aligned candidate Karishma Manzur is on the move as she tries to pull off a major upset and defeat establishment-backed four-term Rep. Chris Pappas in the Democratic Senate primary.

Once a longshot, Manzur gained momentum in recent weeks as the national spotlight turned to New Hampshire after a six-month primary season that saw the far-left score a slew of high-profile victories over centrists in what’s been framed as a battle for the Democrats’ ideological future.

The winner of the Democratic primary will take on either John E. Sununu or Scott Brown, two former senators who are battling for the GOP Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history elected governor and senator.

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Republicans haven’t won a Senate election in New Hampshire in 16 years, but they view the open Democrat-held seat as a top flip opportunity in the fight to hold their slim majority in the midterm elections.

In the Democratic primary, Manzur is taking the fight to Pappas.

“All he wants to do is just get his little cushy job and go to D.C., go to all these parties and these restaurants and just do whatever the bare minimum is,” she charged in a Fox News Digital interview.

The first-time candidate, scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and nonprofit leader who is a member of a local Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) group, is pushing for universal healthcare, raising the minimum wage to at least $20 per hour, abolishing ICE and ending all military aid to Israel for what she argues is the Israeli government’s “genocide” against the Palestinian people in their war against Hamas in Gaza.

Manzur charged that Pappas, who has been supported over the years by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, is a “genocide enabler.”

“Chris Pappas has had his turn and has not been able to serve this state honorably. He hasn’t done a good job in serving his corporate donors, his AIPAC foreign-aligned lobbies,” she claimed.

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Pappas, in an interview with Fox News Digital, said, “Israel’s a historic ally of the United States, the only democracy in the region. And you can say that while you have vehement disagreements with the Netanyahu government as I’ve expressed.”

Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pappas said, “I think Netanyahu’s being incredibly reckless right now. He faces voters in a matter of weeks and could lose his election. And I think that would be important to set a new tone for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

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Pappas, who has been the frontrunner for his party’s nomination ever since Shaheen announced early last year that she wouldn’t seek re-election, enjoys strong establishment and union backing. And for over a year, as he runs for the Senate, Pappas also takes aim at what he calls a political system “rigged for billionaires.”

Regardless, Manzur charges that Pappas is taking a page from her playbook.

“It’s really embarrassing and insulting to the people of New Hampshire. He’s been there for eight years. He has not provided any of that sort of populist messages, and now he’s realizing, wait, he’s dropping in the polls, and now he has to catch up,” Manzur argued. 

Pappas defended his record, noting, “I’ve been fighting to change Washington to get big money out of our political system since I got elected to Congress in 2018.”

And Pappas emphasized he’s “appealing to those voters between the 20- and 80-yard line on the political playing field, and there are a lot of them in New Hampshire. This is not a left wing or a right wing state. It’s a state of voters who are pragmatic.”

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While Democrats wage an ideological battle, Republicans are fighting over Trump’s influence in their own primary.

The president in February endorsed Sununu, a longtime GOP Trump critic, over Brown, one of his first-term ambassadors. Sununu is also backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Brown charged in a Fox News Digital interview that Sununu’s “got 70 endorsements on his website, but he doesn’t have the president’s. He never talks about it. He’s embarrassed by it.”

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“I’ve had the MAGA base and a lot of those so-called traditional Republicans for almost over a year,” Brown highlighted. “Johnny came lately, and he’s here, and now he thinks everyone’s going to just vote for him. That’s not how it works. You got to go earn it.”

Brown claimed that Sununu is “beholden” to Trump, Thune, the Senate leadership, and outside groups.

“He owes them everything. He doesn’t work for the people of New Hampshire,” Brown charged.

But Sununu emphasized, “I’ll have one job: stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day… I don’t need to make anyone in Washington happy. It’s all about our state, our communities, our economy, and our small businesses.”

Asked by Fox News Digital about Trump’s endorsement, Sununu didn’t mention the president’s name but highlighted his local endorsements, saying, “We’ve received tremendous support in New Hampshire … we’ve got great momentum at the grassroots level.”

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Trump last week said he’d be heading out on the campaign trail to help fellow Republicans running in the midterms.

Asked if he’d like Trump to join him on the Granite State campaign trail, Sununu answered, “I don’t need anyone from outside New Hampshire to campaign for me. I’ve said that from the very beginning.”

The former senator also disagreed with the Trump administration’s trade war with neighboring Canada, saying, “I don’t think it’s the right thing to pick a trade war with Canada. They’re a great trading partner for New Hampshire.”

In the race to replace Pappas in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, Shaheen’s daughter Stefany Shaheen, a former Portsmouth city councilor, is in a heated battle for the Democratic nomination against Maura Sullivan, a U.S. Marine combat veteran who later served in the Defense Department during then-President Barack Obama’s administration. Gaining strength in the final weeks of the campaign is progressive contender Carleigh Beriont, a Hampton selectwoman.

Businessman and auto dealership owner Anthony DiLorenzo, who is backed by Trump, and Hollie Noveletsky, a businesswoman and former state party vice chair who’s running a second straight time for Congress, are the frontrunners for the GOP nomination. State Rep. Brian Cole is also bidding for the Republican nomination.

In the state’s 2nd Congressional District, first-term Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander is facing a primary challenge from the left from state Rep. Paige Beauchemin.

Lily Tang Williams, a former Colorado Libertarian Party chair who is running a third straight time for Congress in New Hampshire, is the frontrunner in the Republican primary.

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Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a former U.S. senator and former state attorney general, faces no serious opposition as she seeks a second two-year term as New Hampshire governor.

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Cinde Warmington, a former New Hampshire Executive Councilor and 2024 candidate for governor, is unopposed for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.