Manzur: I'm The 'Real Democrat,' Pappas Is The Sellout

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Karishma Manzur insists she’s not trying to drag the Democratic Party to the left. Instead, she’s trying to rescue it from “corporate Democrats” like U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas.

“I don’t even understand why we have to call ourselves progressives,” the U.S. Senate candidate said during an online town hall hosted by Progressive Democrats of America. “We should just call ourselves Democrats. It’s the corporate Democrats that need a new label because they have sold us out.”

And one of those corporate Democrats, according to Manzur, is Pappas.

“He has never co-sponsored Medicare for All,” she said. “He takes a lot of money from AIPAC. He has approved billions of dollars of weapons transfers to Israel to fuel a genocide. He voted to censure Rashida Tlaib.”

Manzur also criticized Pappas’ vote for a resolution honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk after he was assassinated.

When asked whether he’s a progressive Democrat or how he views the rise of socialist Democrats in his party, Pappas’ answer is to call himself a “New Hampshire Democrat,” an answer Manzur rejects.

“I’m a New Hampshire Democrat. New Hampshire Democrats are not selling out. We are still true to our progressive values.”

Whether Manzur represents the Democratic Party’s mainstream or its socialist fringe is now a central question in the Sept. 8 primary. New Hampshire Democrats have a history of supporting progressive insurgents. Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton by more than 22 percentage points in the state’s 2016 presidential primary and narrowly won the crowded 2020 primary.

Manzur’s support is also strongest among socialist and younger voters, according to the latest UNH Survey Center poll. It showed Pappas leading Manzur 47% to 34%, a dramatic decline from his 61% to 18% advantage in April.

The Pappas campaign has countered with an internal GQR poll showing him leading 71% to 15%. The survey of 422 Democratic primary voters was conducted Aug. 19-25.

Manzur has also criticized Pappas for hiding from the voters, a complaint progressives have made about the incumbent Democrat for years.

“He doesn’t even have the courage to meet with his constituents,” Manzur told the NHJournal podcast. “He has not had a single town hall in over a year, since March 22 of 2025. Everywhere he goes is very scripted. They know who’s coming; they know exactly how long he’s going to be there; he doesn’t take too many questions; he runs out; all he does is do his photo ops. This is not public service.”

The progressive wing of the party, meanwhile, is rallying around Manzur. She has been endorsed by Progressive Democrats of America, former U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, and groups including Peace Action and 350NH Action. Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, a national co-chair of Sanders’ 2020 campaign, is campaigning for Manzur at a People’s Rally on the State House lawn Monday, the day before the primary.

Pappas has the backing of the Democratic establishment, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as progressive Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Sanders has not endorsed either candidate.

Pappas would not respond to NHJournal’s requests for comment, but his politics have shifted to the left since the primary campaign began. After years of largely supporting Israel, in July, he voted “present” on Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie’s amendment to strip approximately $3 billion in U.S. assistance to Israel.

On Tuesday, he voted against a resolution condemning socialism. On Wednesday, he followed up by voting against a proposed constitutional amendment to set the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine and foil progressive proposals to pack the court.

Still, Pappas has not staked out the progressive activist positions of Manzur, who appeared at a State House rally denouncing Israel while standing on a stage featuring both the Palestinian flag and the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In video clips circulated by the Republican National Committee, Manzur accused the United States of “terrorizing the world.”

“We are the biggest thugs right now,” she added, blaming Trump.

Manzur has made the unusual leap of linking New Hampshire’s housing shortage to climate change, arguing that people fleeing wildfires in California are relocating to New England.

“What I would call climate refugees are moving into New Hampshire and New England,” Manzur said. “So our housing costs are getting even worse.”

Pappas’ supporters argue his moderate record reflects New Hampshire’s status as a closely divided state and gives Democrats their best opportunity to defeat the likely Republican nominee, former U.S. Sen. John Sununu, in November.

Manzur responds that nominating another establishment candidate because he is allegedly the lesser of two evils is precisely how Democrats lost working-class voters.

“The lesser of two evils is still evil,” she said. “Vote for the greater good.”

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.