Chris Pappas is projected to defeat former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu in New Hampshire, making him the first openly gay male senator in U.S. history. The Democratic senator-elect’s victory keeps the open seat in Democratic control; the race was for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
Pappas is the third openly LGBTQ+ person elected to the Senate, following former senators Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema. His win marks a milestone in national representation, but it also carries immediate political weight: retaining a Senate seat for Democrats in a competitive state.
A victory speech aimed at the status quo
In his acceptance speech, Pappas framed the result as a rejection of entrenched interests. He told supporters it was a win for New Hampshire over a broken status quo, according to the Associated Press, and described it as a warning to corporate special interests and billionaires who he said have been rigging the economy. He also criticized members of Congress who he said have enabled health care cuts, tariffs and war, and he took aim at the president for what he called a failure to care about people being hurt.
The remarks positioned the win as both a local mandate and a broader statement, though the immediate effect is a Democratic hold on a Senate seat in a state that will now send an openly gay man to the chamber for the first time.
A night of firsts across the midterms
Pappas was not alone in making history on Tuesday night. Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won his race and became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. Republican Byron Donalds became Florida’s first Black governor. In Wisconsin, Democrat David Crowley defeated Tom Tiffany to become the state’s first Black governor. And in Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in any state.
With Democrats taking control of the House, Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become the body’s first Black Speaker.
What the Pappas win means beyond New Hampshire
The significance of Pappas’s election extends beyond the Senate map. His victory arrives as LGBTQ+ representation in high office continues to expand, and it may soon have a cultural parallel: Andrew Scott, star of Simon Stone’s Elsinore, could become the first openly gay man to win a best actor Oscar this season. Only two others, Sir Ian McKellen and Colman Domingo, have even been nominated in that category.
For now, Pappas’s win stands on its own: a Democratic hold in New Hampshire, a personal first, and a new line in the Senate’s history.
