Chris Pappas has made American history. The New Hampshire Democrat has been elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first openly gay man ever elected to the chamber in its more than 230-year history — a barrier-breaking victory that capped a night of stunning Democratic gains in the 2026 midterm elections.
Chris Pappas defeated Republican former senator John E. Sununu in Tuesday’s election, holding a seat Democrats could not afford to lose and keeping New Hampshire blue in a race that national Republicans had targeted as a prime pickup opportunity. The Associated Press called the race for Chris Pappas on election night, and Sununu conceded defeat, sealing a result that will send the 46-year-old congressman to the Senate in January 2027.
In the early count reported on election night, Chris Pappas led with 221,817 votes to Sununu’s 160,648 with 53 per cent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press figures carried by local coverage. The margin was comfortable, but the meaning of the win went far beyond the numbers: for the first time, an openly gay man will sit in the United States Senate as an elected member.
Chris Pappas Makes History in New Hampshire
Chris Pappas will succeed retiring Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who is stepping down after 18 years in the seat she has held since 2009. Shaheen’s retirement opened the race, and Republicans saw a rare opening in a state that has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 2000 and has not elected a Republican senator since 2010. Instead, New Hampshire voters chose continuity — and history.
The victory is a personal milestone for Chris Pappas, but it is also a milestone for representation. Openly LGBTQ women have served in the Senate before: Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin became the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the chamber in 2012, and Laphonza Butler of California served after being appointed in 2023. Until now, however, no openly gay man had ever won a Senate election. Chris Pappas has broken that barrier, and he did it in a swing-state contest that both parties poured money into.
On election night, Chris Pappas celebrated with his husband, Vann Bentley, at a watch party in Manchester, the city where he was born and raised. Photographs of the couple embracing as the result was called spread quickly online, becoming one of the defining images of the night.
Who Is Chris Pappas?
Chris Pappas is a Manchester native whose family has been part of New Hampshire life for generations. His family owns the Puritan Backroom restaurant in Manchester, which opened in 1917 and claims to have invented the chicken tender. Chris Pappas is a part-owner of the restaurant, and he has often spoken about growing up in a family business where he learned to listen to customers and solve problems face to face.
A Harvard-educated descendant of Greek immigrants, Chris Pappas entered politics early. He served in the New Hampshire legislature, as Hillsborough County treasurer, and on the state’s Executive Council before winning election to the US House of Representatives in 2018. That win made him the first openly LGBTQ person to represent New Hampshire in Congress, a first he has now followed with an even bigger one.
In the House, Chris Pappas built a reputation as a workhorse rather than a showman. He is a co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, and he has been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights legislation, including the Respect for Marriage Act. He won the Democratic Senate primary on September 8, 2026, and entered the general election as the favourite — though tighter-than-expected polling over the summer and into the early autumn prompted national Democrats to pump more cash into the race.
The Race Against John Sununu
His opponent was no stranger to the seat. John E. Sununu, 62, held the Senate seat himself after defeating Shaheen, then the state’s governor, in 2002 — only for Shaheen to beat him in a rematch six years later. His comeback bid made the race one of the most closely watched in the country, pitting a former senator against a sitting congressman in a state where both men were well known.
Chris Pappas ran on affordability, health care, and protecting democratic institutions, presenting himself as a pragmatic Democrat who could work across the aisle. He also framed the race as a choice about the country’s direction under President Donald Trump, whose second term has been the central issue of the midterms. Voters, furious about the cost of living and the Iran war, delivered a sweeping rebuke to the president’s party — and Chris Pappas rode that wave.
As of Wednesday, November 4, Democrats held a 54-44 Senate majority according to the Associated Press, having flipped at least seven seats in states including Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, and Maine. Chris Pappas’s win was one of the night’s most symbolic flips: not a seat changing parties, but a seat changing history.
Why Chris Pappas’s Win Matters
Representation matters because it changes what young people believe is possible. When Chris Pappas was first elected to the House in 2018, he became proof for LGBTQ teenagers in New Hampshire that they could represent their state in Washington. His Senate victory extends that proof to the highest legislative chamber in the country, and it comes at a moment when LGBTQ rights are being fiercely debated in statehouses across America.
Advocacy groups were quick to celebrate. The win was described across US media as a landmark for visibility, with commentators noting that the Senate — a body of 100 members that has existed since 1789 — had never before included an openly gay man chosen by voters. Chris Pappas himself has spoken about the responsibility that comes with that first, saying he wants to take on corporate power and the politics of division while delivering practical results for New Hampshire families.
The result also matters for the balance of power. With Democrats regaining control of both the Senate and the House, the final two years of Trump’s presidency will look very different. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is set to become the first Black Speaker of the House, and the Senate will have its first openly gay male member. The 2026 midterms, it is already clear, will be remembered as an election of firsts.
Read more: Hakeem Jeffries to Become First Black Speaker as Democrats Sweep the House
What Happens Next for Chris Pappas
Chris Pappas is expected to take office on January 3, 2027, when the new Senate is sworn in. He will arrive as part of a Democratic majority that has promised to check the White House, protect health care and voting rights, and address the cost-of-living crisis that drove voters to the polls.
For New Hampshire, the win means continuity with a new face. Shaheen’s retirement closed an 18-year chapter; Chris Pappas opens the next one as a senator who knows the state from the ground up — from the restaurant floor in Manchester to the halls of Congress. His supporters say that is exactly why he won: voters trusted a candidate who had already represented them for eight years and who never hid who he was.
The history books will record November 3, 2026, as the night the Senate’s last glass ceiling for gay men fell. But for Chris Pappas, the work starts now — in a chamber where he will be both a first and, he hopes, a sign of how far the country has come. As People reported, the 46-year-old Democrat celebrated his win alongside his husband, a moment that captured a night of firsts for American politics.
Photos: United States Congress, Nate Payne, Tim Pierce and Marc Nozell via Wikimedia Commons (public domain / CC BY / CC BY-SA).
