Pappas Says New Hampshire Senate Race Is 'Tough,' Ties Sununu to Trump With 23 Days to Go

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for the Senate in New Hampshire, said Sunday that "we're taking nothing for granted" as Election Day nears in what he called a "tough race." Appearing on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Pappas said he is hopeful about the outcome but that "we've got to put in the work over the next 23 days."

Pappas, who has represented New Hampshire in the House since 2019, faces former Republican Sen. John Sununu in a contest that could help determine which party controls the Senate. Republicans have eyed the seat since Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced she would not seek reelection. CBS News rates the race as leaning Democratic, but Pappas pointed to the state's purple profile and its lack of early voting. He noted that the state's 2016 Senate race came down to just over 1,000 votes. His plan is to reach independents and swing voters, energize the Democratic base and "reach out to Republicans."

Sununu is the son of former Gov. John H. Sununu and the brother of former Gov. Chris Sununu, and served in the House and Senate until he lost reelection to Shaheen in 2008. Pappas acknowledged the family's weight in state politics. "I'm up against a candidate with a very famous political pedigree in New Hampshire. He's been a U.S. senator before," he said. "But this isn't about going back to the failed politicians with failed ideas from the past, it's about looking ahead to the future."

Sununu has a record of breaking with President Trump and has kept his distance from him while campaigning, against the backdrop of an unpopular war with Iran and high gas prices. Pappas worked to close that gap. Citing Trump's line to "pretend I'm on the ballot," he said Trump is "on the ballot through candidates like John Sununu," who he argued would preserve the GOP majority, make it harder to hold the administration to account on what he called a "culture of corruption in Washington," and weaken the fight to lower costs.

Asked what Democrats should do if they win the House and Senate, Pappas said they must "focus like a laser on the economic challenges that people are living right now." He listed working to end the war and lower energy prices, building on a housing bill to expand affordable housing, and restoring health care cuts that he said are pushing thousands of Granite Staters off their insurance. "We have to put some wins on the board for workers and the middle class," he said.

On immigration, Pappas stressed the need for reforms, while some other Democrats want Immigration and Customs Enforcement disbanded entirely. "We have to be realistic — Donald Trump's going to be president for the next two years," he said. "We got to find every point of leverage we possibly can to rein in the disgusting abuses we have seen from ICE."

The race is one of several that make the Senate map competitive, with the midterms set for Nov. 3. With Republicans holding a slim majority in both chambers, a single seat in New Hampshire could matter for control.