Photo credit: Chris Pappas for Senate
By BallotWire
10/15/2026
The Wire: Democrat Chris Pappas raised more than $8.1 million in the third quarter of his New Hampshire Senate race against Republican John E. Sununu, extending a fundraising edge he has held all cycle in a contest that remains a toss-up.
Why it counts: The open seat, created by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s retirement, is one of a handful that could decide Senate control. Pappas’s grassroots money machine is a real asset in a purple state, but Sununu’s outside backing keeps the race close.
The margin: Pappas outraised Sununu by roughly five to one in the quarter, with the Republican bringing in about $1.5 million to his campaign account. Ninety-five percent of Pappas’s contributions were $100 or less, and more than 47,300 new donors joined this quarter, lifting the campaign to over 165,000 unique donors from 227 New Hampshire towns and cities. Across the cycle, Pappas has raised roughly $15 million to Sununu’s $4 million, even as public polls show the two essentially even.
The fine print: The topline gap overstates Pappas’s financial advantage. He has spent at a far higher rate than Sununu, who has husbanded his resources, leaving the two campaigns’ bank balances closer than their fundraising totals. Much of both candidates’ money has come from out of state, with Boston, New York, and Washington among the top donor cities for each.
On the record: Pappas’s campaign cast the haul as proof of momentum, with campaign manager Rachel Petri saying he is “building a grassroots movement to deliver for the people of New Hampshire.”
The backdrop: Pappas, a four-term congressman, and Sununu, a former senator who lost this seat to Shaheen in 2008 and is the brother of former Gov. Chris Sununu, both advanced from Sept. 8 primaries. New Hampshire has not elected a Republican to the Senate since Kelly Ayotte in 2010, and its congressional delegation is entirely Democratic, though Harris carried the state by just 2.8 points in 2024.
Looking ahead: The race is expected to rank among the most expensive in New Hampshire history. With the candidates running even and Election Day on Nov. 3, the question is whether Pappas’s cash advantage can outweigh the Republican outside-money push in a state that has stayed stubbornly competitive.