U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas with supporters in Manchester on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Will Steinfeld | New Hampshire Bulletin)
Voters in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District have sent both Democrats and Republicans to Congress over the years – and been willing to boot out incumbents along the way. But, so far, not Chris Pappas.
The incumbent Democrat, first elected in 2018, won a fourth term Tuesday in what has historically been a purple district made up of an eastern chunk of the state. The latest victory means Pappas has won the seat more consecutive times than any candidate in the past four decades.
“We built a powerful coalition of Democrats, independents and, yes, Republicans, too, who are all tired of division and cynicism and a partisanship in our politics,” said Pappas, 44, of Manchester. “And they want leaders who are going to put New Hampshire first, and that’s what I intend to do when I’m back on the job.”
Shortly after 9 p.m., Pappas took the stage at a conference center in Manchester, telling supporters that Republican challenger Russell Prescott, a former executive councilor and state senator, had called him to concede.
With 80 percent of the vote in, the Associated Press called the race for Pappas at 11:42 p.m. Pappas, of Manchester, had secured 54 percent of the vote to Prescott’s 46 percent when the race was called.
Pappas had sharply criticized Prescott, an engineer who resides in Kingston, on abortion and his LGBTQ rights record; Prescott, meanwhile, called on Pappas to take down negative ads that he said misrepresented him. The two had, for a time, been colleagues on the Executive Council. Prescott had emphasized his plans to work toward a balanced federal budget if elected.
In his victory speech, Pappas thanked Prescott for running and asked his supporters to give his opponent a round of applause. Prescott seemed to have no hard feelings, saying in an interview on WMUR after conceding the race that “when we did disagree, we … didn’t disagree in a way that we offended each other, and made sure that we talked about the issues. I’m so glad that we had that relationship to begin with.”
In his reelection campaign, Pappas focused on his efforts to work across the aisle, while also arguing that congressional Republicans were “taking dysfunction and extremism to the next level.” He said he would focus on tax cuts for working families, expanding the child tax credit, addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and lowering the costs of housing, child care, energy, and health care. While his opponent supported turning the issue of abortion back to the states, Pappas said he wanted to restore the federal abortion rights protections provided under Roe v. Wade until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it in 2022.
“I think of a woman in Londonderry who had to have an emergency abortion because of a miscarriage, and wants her two daughters to have the same access to care that she has,” Pappas said in his victory speech. “We’ve got to ensure that women have equal rights in this country, that they can determine their own faith, and I will work with everything I’ve got to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.” The room – full of those watching results for the presidency, governorship, and Pappas’ race – broke into raucous applause.
A graduate of Manchester public schools and Harvard University, Pappas co-owns a family restaurant. Before coming to Congress, he served as a state representative, the Hillsborough County treasurer, and an executive councilor. In Congress, he has served on committees related to small businesses, veterans’ affairs, and transportation and infrastructure. Pappas, the state’s first openly gay member of Congress, co-chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus focused on LGBTQ rights.
Pappas has held his seat by a comfortable margin over the years, even in a traditionally competitive district. In the past 28 years, Republicans and Democrats have won the seat roughly an even number of times; since 2010, Democrats have taken the seat in six of eight elections. A Republican hasn’t won the seat since 2014.
Still, 1st District voters have been willing to hand the spot to either party – and they’ve kicked out incumbents only to take them back again later on. In 2010, they cast off Democrat Carol Shea-Porter in favor of Republican Frank Guinta. Then, in 2012, they fired him for Shea-Porter. 2014 was back to Guinta – but not for long. Shea-Porter took the seat back in 2016, after which she did not seek reelection. Thus began Pappas’ winning streak. (Like Pappas, Shea-Porter won four terms this century. Unlike him, her terms were not consecutive.)
How long a representative ought to stay in Congress was a point of disagreement between Pappas and his opponent. “I think six years is plenty of time to be able to get your work done,” Prescott said at a forum. He pledged to support a limit of three terms for U.S. representatives and two terms for senators.
Pappas didn’t take that pledge. For now, the 1st District seat is his – until he chooses to step away or voters make that choice for him.
“There’s much work ahead,” Pappas said, looking out on a crowd of supporters, with his family standing behind him, “and there’s no challenge that can’t be solved if Americans are willing to work together.”