New $6M One Nation TV Ad Buy Hits Pappas Over Lobbyist 'Lie'

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

A new GOP ad hit the airwaves Wednesday, targeting U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas over his relationship with an Amazon lobbyist and his denial of it during a televised WMUR debate in 2020.

The ad begins with the words, “Congress badly needs ethics reform.” It then cuts to a clip from the NH-01 debate between Pappas and Republican Matt Mowers.

“You’ve been dating a corporate lobbyist who actually was lobbying on behalf of Amazon at a time when you then went on to cast votes on Amazon’s behalf on bills they lobbied you on,” Mowers tells Pappas.

“It’s not true,” Pappas replies.

As NHJournal reported at the time, it was true.

During the debate, Pappas flatly denied the charge, calling the allegation “outrageous” and “disgusting.”

“How dare you,” Pappas said. “That is not true, Matt. This is an outrageous charge.”

In fact, Pappas dated Amazon lobbyist Vann Bentley in 2019 and voted on legislation affecting Amazon’s business. Pappas did not publicly disclose his relationship with the lobbyist until after the debate. He also accused Mowers of homophobic attacks for bringing up his lobbyist relationship.

Pappas and Bentley married in 2023.

“Congressman Chris Pappas dated an Amazon lobbyist and voted on multiple bills that Jeff Bezos and Amazon lobbied on. How typical for Washington,” the ad says.

The ad is scheduled to run on broadcast, cable, satellite, radio and digital platforms.

Pappas declined to respond to requests for comment.

The ad is being paid for by One Nation, a nonprofit organization with close ties to Senate GOP leadership.

“Congressman Chris Pappas has repeatedly failed to prioritize New Hampshire’s working families, choosing instead to align himself with Washington lobbyists despite clear ethical concerns,” said One Nation Executive Director Alex Latcham. “One Nation remains dedicated to keeping Granite Staters informed and encourages residents to contact Congressman Pappas today to demand comprehensive congressional ethics reforms.”

According to One Nation, “At least seven times, Pappas voted on the very bills that Jeff Bezos and Amazon paid their corporate lobbyists to pressure Congress on, raising serious ethical issues and conflict-of-interest concerns.”

The New Hampshire ad reservation is part of a broader spending campaign by the organization in key Senate battleground states. The political operation aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune is reportedly planning to spend more than $400 million during the 2026 election cycle, most of it through the Senate Leadership Fund.

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.