Pappas and Goodlander both win, while NH Democrats retain their congressional seats

Democrats won the race for New Hampshire's two congressional seats on Tuesday, with one winner a political newcomer and the other a veteran campaigner with a long list of elected offices in the state.

In the 1st Congressional District, Democrat Chris Pappas won his fourth consecutive term in Congress, defeating Republican Russell Prescott.

And in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District, Maggie Goodlander – in her first campaign – defeated Republican Lily Tang Williams. Goodlander succeeds six-term Congresswoman Annie Kuster, who did not seek re-election this year.

The results mean that New Hampshire's federal delegation remains made up entirely of Democrats, and both U.S. Senate seats are also currently held by Democrats.

“Tonight I am truly honored by the vote of confidence from the people of New Hampshire to continue our work over the next two years,” Pappas told supporters gathered at Puritan Backroom in Manchester, his family’s restaurant. “I am here to work on behalf of all the people who call New Hampshire home.”

The state's 1st District has been considered a swing district for the past two decades, with Republicans and Democrats regularly trading control of the seat. But Pappas has now won four races in a row, including the last two in decisive fashion. In this campaign, as in his previous victories, Pappas presented himself as a bipartisan consensus builder focused on fundamental issues such as drug prices, veterans' needs and infrastructure.

The Associated Press called the race for Pappas around 11:45 p.m., with him securing 54% of the vote.

In an interview with WMUR on Tuesday night, Prescott thanked his family, including his eight grandchildren.

“I did this for them so they could see an example of how you can be a public servant and talk about the issues without turning into something negative,” Prescott said. “Politics shouldn’t be like this.”

Pappas draws on years of campaign experience

Pappas is the first person to win four consecutive terms in the 1st District since Norman D'Amours, a Democrat who held the seat for five terms from 1974 to 1984.

In their debates, both Pappas and Prescott presented themselves to the voters as measured, experienced politicians who at the same time tout their respective deep roots in New Hampshire. Papas met with some criticism from the left wing of his party about his continued support of Israel's military operations in Gaza, but also spoke frequently about his support for reproductive rights to seek support from Democrats and independents. Prescott, a former executive councilor and state senatoremphasized his financial management skills as a small business owner and the need to advocate for a balanced budget in Washington.

In 2022, Prescott placed fourth in the Republican primary for the same seat. The GOP candidate in that race, Karoline Leavitt, lost to Pappas by more than eight percentage points.

Pappas, 44, is it an experienced politician. He served in the state House of Representatives and won his first race in 2002 at age 22. He also served as Hillsborough County Treasurer and served three terms on the Executive Council before running for Congress in 2018.

Pappas has used his Manchester roots and combined them with his appeal in some progressive circles in New Hampshire, including the Seacoast region, said Jim Demers, a longtime Democratic politician and political observer in the state.

“He has established himself as someone who can hold this position for a long time if he decides that's what he wants to do,” Demers said.

Goodlander successful in his first election campaign

By contrast, Goodlander ran for elected office for the first time this year.

“Whether you voted for me or not, if I have the honor of representing you, I will work for you — all of you — in the people’s house,” Goodlander told a room full of supporters on stage at the Bank of New Hampshire in Concord. “It means that you will be on my mind wherever I am and wherever I go.”

According to Associated Press results, as of 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Goodlander had won 53% of the vote, compared to 47% for Tang Williams.

For Goodlander, the victory was the highlight a meteoric rise in state politics. Before this year, she was a relatively unknown figure who had built her career in Washington, D.C., in a variety of federal jobs: as a clerk at the Supreme Court, as a lawyer at the Justice Department, as a Capitol Hill staffer and as a legal adviser to the Biden White House. But after returning to her hometown of Nashua earlier this year and defeating Colin Van Ostern in a closely contested Democratic primary in September, Goodlander will now represent the state in Congress.

During the election campaign, she presented herself to voters as a “workhorse” who could be successful in the Capitol. She is married to Jake Sullivan, President Biden's US national security adviser. And her candidacy received support from Democrats at the highest levels, including Hillary Clinton and locally, former New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch.

But she also draws on her childhood in Nashua and her family's political history during her campaign. Goodlander spoke of being able to see the hospital where she was born and her great-grandfather's shoe factory from her living room in the Nashua apartment she was renting when she decided to run for Congress. Her mother, Betty Tamposi, a former state legislator, was featured in her ads.

Goodlander often flaunted them Support for reproductive rights as the cornerstone of her campaign and justified this political stance with a story about her personal experiences fighting for access to health care in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision. She also emphasized the idea of ​​a “fair deal” This includes supporting a range of efforts such as affordable health care, tax reform and access to housing.

This was in contrast to Tang Williams, who focused heavily on immigration and fiscal discipline in their messages to voters. Tang Williams ran for Congress as a Libertarian in Colorado in 2016 before moving to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. During her campaign, she spoke about her childhood in China and her immigration to the United States.

At Goodlander's victory celebration Tuesday night, pop music lifted the spirits of her supporters. Among them was Lynch, who said he was excited about the emergence of a new state politician.

“I think she will be a new, fresh face in terms of Washington; She had an incredible experience,” he said. “It’s amazing what she’s done. She is very, very impartial. So I think she will be able to work with people on both sides to craft important legislation for New Hampshire and the country.”