New Hampshire voters selected Democrat Chris Pappas and Republican John Sununu as their respective nominees in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Jeanne Shaheen. The primary elections, held on Tuesday, set the stage for a pivotal contest that will influence control of the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.

Pappas, who has represented New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District since 2019, secured the Democratic nomination by defeating democratic socialist challenger Karishma Manzur. Manzur, a biochemist and molecular biologist by profession, campaigned on a progressive platform advocating for universal healthcare and opposing U.S. aid to Israel. Though Pappas maintained a lead throughout the primary campaign, recent polling revealed Manzur narrowing the gap, trailing Pappas by 13 percentage points in a University of New Hampshire survey. Pappas has emphasized anti-corruption initiatives and positioned himself as a moderate, with a record of bipartisan cooperation as a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus. He received endorsements from Shaheen and prominent Democrats including U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

In the Republican primary, former U.S. Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire won the nomination over Scott Brown, a former senator from Massachusetts and former U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. Sununu’s campaign presented him as a moderate Republican willing to work across party lines. He received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who praised Sununu’s commitment to advancing the “America First Agenda.” However, Sununu’s campaign has maintained a cautious distance from Trump in public communications, reflecting the former president’s low approval ratings in New Hampshire. Brown’s campaign focused on attacking “D.C. special interests,” but he lagged significantly behind Sununu in polling.

The Senate race is considered highly significant for both parties. Shaheen’s retirement creates an open seat that could alter the balance of power in the Senate, with Democrats seeking to hold onto it as part of their strategy to flip the chamber by netting four additional seats. For Republicans, capturing the seat would provide a buffer in maintaining their Senate majority, adding to the stakes.

The 2024 midterm elections will determine which party controls Congress during the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. A Democratic majority would likely pursue broad investigations into the Trump administration, potentially involving companies with ties to the administration. Against this backdrop, New Hampshire’s Senate race has emerged as a crucial battleground that may reflect larger national political dynamics.