Blue Tsunami Sinks NH GOP's Federal Ticket

By Leonard Robinson, NH Journal

The blue tsunami that swept through American politics Tuesday night slammed into the New Hampshire Republican Party, taking down every federal candidate by double digits and sending John E. Sununu to the political showers just minutes after the polls closed.

Sununu conceded to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas shortly after 8:10 p.m., even before The Associated Press formally called the race. For Republicans gathered at McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester, the election night watch party quickly became a farewell.

“We ran an incredible campaign, but it’s not our night,” Sununu said. “Campaigning is, in many ways, a privilege and we put together a race that was town to town and person to person.”

“Despite the fact that this was not a winning year, the reception on the campaign trail was exceptional.”

Sununu was touted as a top-tier recruit in the GOP’s efforts to flip a Senate seat in the midterm elections, but he trailed Pappas in the public polls throughout the campaign. In the end, the outcome of the New Hampshire Senate race didn’t play a key role in the fight for control of the upper chamber. Democrats easily won the majority in the next session.

As of 2 a.m. Wednesday, Pappas led Sununu 56% to 42%, according to The Associated Press.

Throughout the campaign, Sununu was dogged by suggestions that voters were confusing him with his brother, four-term Gov. Chris Sununu. He appeared to have that on his mind as he addressed supporters Tuesday night.

“Thank you to my brothers and sisters, all seven of them,” Sununu said with emphasis.

The double-digit defeat was a decisive end to the attempted comeback by a candidate from one of New Hampshire’s best-known political families. Sununu, a former congressman and U.S. senator, lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in 2008. His attempt to return to Washington ended with another Democrat claiming the seat she is now vacating.

Dan “Sully” Sullivan was at Sununu’s campaign event, and he said the outcome of the race was not a negative reflection on the candidate.

“It’s about bigger national issues. People’s feelings about the administration, about the president, gas prices,” Sullivan said.

“I think he’s a tremendous public servant who’s contributed so much to the Granite State,” Sullivan added. “But it’s politics. You win some, you lose some.”

Pappas, who won four consecutive terms representing the 1st Congressional District, will become the first openly gay man to serve in the U.S. Senate.

The Republican collapse extended down New Hampshire’s federal ballot.

In the 1st Congressional District, Democrat Stefany Shaheen defeated businessman Anthony DiLorenzo by approximately 57% to 43%. Unofficial returns showed Shaheen with 169,065 votes to DiLorenzo’s 126,375.

“We can do big things, and we can bring about big change,” Shaheen said Tuesday night. “We can end the war. We can, we can stop the tariffs. We can bring down costs for New Hampshire families, and we can fix our broken health care system. Let’s go!”

Shaheen, a former Portsmouth city councilor and the daughter of the retiring senator, will succeed Pappas in the House, keeping both seats in Democratic hands.

DiLorenzo, the founder of Key Auto Group, entered the general election with President Donald Trump’s endorsement and substantial personal financial resources. His campaign was largely self-funded, but he could not overcome the Democratic advantage.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander easily defeated Republican Lily Tang Williams in a rematch of their 2024 contest.

Goodlander had approximately 59% of the vote, or 162,783 votes, to Williams’ 38%, or 106,520 votes, in unofficial returns.

The result widened the gap considerably from two years earlier, when Williams finished about six percentage points behind Goodlander. AP called Tuesday’s rematch shortly after 11 p.m., securing Goodlander a second term. New Hampshire Public Radio

The federal sweep came as Democrats celebrated breakthroughs well beyond New Hampshire, including victories in Republican-held governors’ offices in Texas, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio. apnews.com

New Hampshire Republicans found a bright spot in Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s reelection, but her victory could not carry the party’s congressional candidates across the finish line. By the time her race was called early Wednesday, all three federal contests had already gone to Democrats.

Drew Cline, head of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, said the GOP has a brand problem.

“Voters now associate the Republican Party with high consumer prices caused by tax hikes, war and government meddling in the economy. Though Republicans didn’t govern that way in New Hampshire, all politics is national now, not local. The wave was going to swamp the state no matter what.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.