Greek-American Democrat Chris Pappas won New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race Tuesday, Nov. 3, defeating former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu and securing the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
The Associated Press called the race for Pappas, according to New Hampshire Public Radio. The result keeps the seat in Democratic hands after a closely watched contest against Sununu, who was seeking to return to the chamber after losing his reelection bid in 2008.
Pappas, 46, has represented New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District since January 2019, winning four consecutive House elections. He will also become the first openly gay man to serve in the U.S. Senate.
His victory is among the most prominent results for the Greek-American candidates competing in this year’s midterm elections, with his congressional record including leadership of the bipartisan Hellenic Caucus and legislation involving Greece.
From a Greek immigrant family to the Senate
A lifelong Manchester resident, Pappas grew up around the Puritan Backroom, the restaurant business his family has operated for generations. His Greek immigrant great-grandfather helped establish the business in 1917, and Pappas later worked there before entering Congress.
“Running my family’s small business showed me the power of hard work and serving others,” Pappas wrote in an April essay about his upbringing. He described returning home after college to help run the restaurant and deciding to seek public office in the community where he grew up.
Pappas graduated from Harvard in 2002. His political career took him through the New Hampshire House of Representatives, the Hillsborough County treasurer’s office and the state’s Executive Council before his election to Congress in 2018.
He announced his Senate campaign in April 2025 after Shaheen said she would not seek another term. His campaign emphasized household costs and health care, alongside opposition to President Donald Trump’s administration.
A congressional record on Greece and Cyprus
As co-chair of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, Pappas has worked with lawmakers from both parties on issues involving Greece, Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean.
In May, the bipartisan U.S.-Greece Defense Cooperation Advancement Act, which he introduced with Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Dina Titus and Nicole Malliotakis, advanced out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The legislation proposed extending International Military Education and Training assistance to Greece for five years.
Pappas’s office said the measure was intended to strengthen military cooperation and training between the two countries. It received endorsements from the American Hellenic Institute, AHEPA and the Hellenic American Leadership Council.
Days before the election, he also led a bipartisan effort to recognize Oxi Day. His office announced the resolution on Oct. 29, continuing an initiative he has pursued annually since 2019 to commemorate Greece’s resistance to the Axis powers.
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