In the political sphere, New Hampshire recalls a scene in The Wizard of Oz – it’s a horse of a different color. All four members of the U.S. Congressional delegation are Democrats. Democratic Presidential candidates won the most votes in every election from 2004 to 2024. However, the governor and the majority of both state legislative chambers are Republicans.

The U.S. Senate seat is open; current Senator Jeanne Shaheen declined to run for reelection. The primary is not until September 8, but current U.S. Representative Chris Pappas, who has represented New Hampshire’s 1st district since 2019, is clearly the leading Democratic contender. Pappas likely will face former U.S. Senator John Sununu, who lost to Shaheen in 2008; or former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, who ran and lost against Shaheen in 2014. Polls show Sununu has an edge on Brown. Pappas has raised more in campaign funds than both Republicans combined. But the Republican Party, specifically the Senate Leadership Fund, has pledged $17 million to Sununu should he win the primary.

Though polls have shown Pappas to have a strong lead over the Republicans, Pappas warned Democrats, “Don’t take New Hampshire for granted.” The state has 1.086 million registered voters. Democrats make up 28.1% of the total; Republicans make up 31.9%; and unaffiliated make up 39.9%. Unaffiliated voters can choose to vote in either party’s primary.

• The U.S. Senatorial race in New Hampshire is one of 11 that is an open seat race this year.

• Chris Pappas helped launch the End Corruption Caucus, which aims to root out corruption in government and is fighting against the Republican plan to cut Social Security.

• Pappas and Sen. Richard Blumenthal filed legislation to crack down on “claim sharks” scamming disabled veterans.

• While Trump in his first term appointed Scott Brown as ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, Trump has endorsed Sununu in the primary.

• Sununu hails from a Republican political family. His father, John H. Sununu was governor of the state, and his brother Chris Sununu served eight years as governor.

• Sununu claimed he had never been in Qatar or communicated with Jeffrey Epstein or Epstein’s associate Boris Nikolic. He had to recant when emails surfaced that showed when Nikolic asked who to talk with at the World Economic Financing event (in Qatar), Epstein responded, “John Sununu has good stories.”

• Brown relocated to New Hampshire to run for the Senate.

• One of Brown’s promises, when he successfully ran in 2010, was that he would be the vote to stop the Affordable Care Act. He wasn’t.