New Hampshire primary results: Key takeaways for US midterm elections

The GOP aims to gain a New England foothold as Democrats strive to retain the Senate seat.

Voters cast their ballots in the primary for midterm elections at Sanbornton Town Hall, New Hampshire, US, September 8, 2026. New Hampshire voters have not elected a Republican senator since 2010, potentially losing a Democratic Senate seat in the November midterms [CJ Gunther/Getty via AFP]

Republican John E Sununu and Democrat Chris Pappas have won their primary elections in New Hampshire and will compete for a United States Senate seat that could flip the chamber in November.

Former Senator Sununu and House Representative Pappas are battling to replace outgoing Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Both candidates were strong frontrunners in their respective races.

In the House Republican primaries, Anthony DiLorenzo won in the 1st Congressional District and Lily Tang Williams won the 2nd District without much contest.

Tang Williams will face House Representative Maggie Goodlander, who is running for a second term. Shaheen’s daughter, Stefany Shaheen, defeated retired Marine Maura Sullivan in a tight Democratic primary for the 1st District.

Republican Kelly Ayotte dominated the state gubernatorial race, defeating two little-known challengers. Former US senator and state attorney general Ayotte is seeking a second two-year term, running against Cinde Warmington, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris won the state in the 2024 presidential election by a margin of 2.78 percentage points over President Donald Trump.

New Hampshire Republican Senate candidate John Sununu, accompanied by his wife Kitty, addresses supporters at his primary election night watch party on September 8, 2026, in Manchester, New Hampshire [CJ Gunther/Getty via AFP]

Critical Senate race

While New Hampshire has largely elected Republicans for state government and Democrats for Congress, the Grand Old Party views the race as an opportunity to gain a foothold in New England.

Democrats hope to retain the seat, as they need a net gain of four seats to retake the Senate currently controlled by Republicans.

The second frontrunner in the Democratic primary race, democratic socialist Karishma Manzur, failed to defeat Pappas despite gaining on him in recent weeks. Manzur criticised Pappas for his relationship with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Sununu defeated seven opponents, including a former state senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown.

“Chris Pappas has three main qualities: ineffective, partisan and out of touch with New Hampshire,” Sununu said at a victory party.

Pappas sought to tie Sununu to the increasingly unpopular US President Donald Trump during his campaign. Trump endorsed Sununu, despite the Republican candidate describing him as a “loser” during the 2024 presidential race.

“While New Hampshire families are struggling to make ends meet, John Sununu has thrown his lot in with Donald Trump and supports the policies that cater to big corporations and billionaires while they make life harder for Granite Staters,” Pappas said.

Tight contest for Democratic House nomination

Stefany Shaheen won the Democratic nomination for the 1st District and will compete for the seat left open by Pappas.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Democratic incumbent Goodlander defeated progressive challenger Paige Beauchemin. Tang Williams won the Republican primary in her third attempt for the seat and was the GOP nominee in the 2024 elections.

Meanwhile, political newcomer DiLorenzo defeated three other candidates without much difficulty, having received an endorsement from Trump.

Rhode Island primaries

Voters across Rhode Island head to the polls tomorrow. Its most closely watched election is the race for governor.

Governor Dan McKee, facing voter dissatisfaction and low job approval ratings, is up against challenger Helena Foulkes, who challenged him in the 2022 gubernatorial primary elections. Foulkes has led in polls by double digits for months.

Harris won Rhode Island in the 2024 presidential election with a lead of 13.7 percentage points.

共和党的目标是在新英格兰地区站稳脚跟，而民主党则力图保住参议院席位。

2026年9月8日，美国新罕布什尔州桑伯顿市政厅，选民们正在参加中期选举的初选投票。自2010年以来，新罕布什尔州选民就没有选出过共和党参议员，这意味着该州可能在11月的中期选举中失去一个民主党参议员席位。[CJ Gunther/Getty via AFP]

共和党人约翰·E·苏努努和民主党人克里斯·帕帕斯赢得了新罕布什尔州的初选，他们将角逐美国参议院席位，这可能会在11月的大选中改变参议院的格局。

前参议员苏努努和众议员帕帕斯正在角逐接替即将卸任的民主党参议员珍妮·沙欣的席位。两位候选人在各自的选区都曾是强有力的领跑者。

在众议院共和党初选中，安东尼·迪洛伦佐赢得了第一国会选区，莉莉·唐·威廉姆斯赢得了第二选区，几乎没有遇到任何竞争。

唐·威廉姆斯将与竞选连任的众议员玛吉·古德兰德对决。沙欣的女儿斯蒂芬妮·沙欣在第一选区的民主党初选中击败了退役海军陆战队员莫拉·沙利文，赢得该选区的席位。

共和党人凯莉·阿约特在州长竞选中大获全胜，击败了两名名不见经传的挑战者。这位前美国参议员兼州检察长正在寻求连任，她的对手是民主党候选人辛迪·沃明顿，后者在党内初选中没有遇到任何竞争对手。

前副总统卡马拉·哈里斯在 2024 年总统选举中以 2.78 个百分点的优势击败唐纳德·特朗普总统，赢得了该州。

2026年9月8日，新罕布什尔州共和党参议员候选人约翰·苏努努携妻子凯蒂在曼彻斯特举行的初选之夜守夜派对上向支持者发表讲话。[CJ Gunther/Getty via AFP]

关键的参议院选举

虽然新罕布什尔州长期以来一直选举共和党人担任州政府职务，选举民主党人担任国会议员，但共和党将此次选举视为在新英格兰地区站稳脚跟的机会。

民主党人希望保住这个席位，因为他们需要净增四个席位才能重新夺回目前由共和党控制的参议院。

民主党初选第二领跑者、民主社会主义者卡里什玛·曼祖尔（Karishma Manzur）尽管在最近几周缩小了与帕帕斯（Pappas）的差距，但最终还是未能击败对手。曼祖尔批评帕帕斯与美国以色列公共事务委员会（AIPAC）的关系。

苏努努击败了七位对手，其中包括马萨诸塞州前州参议员斯科特·布朗。

“克里斯·帕帕斯有三个主要特点：无能、党派偏见、脱离新罕布什尔州，”苏努努在胜选庆祝会上说。

帕帕斯在竞选期间试图将苏努努与日益不受欢迎的美国总统唐纳德·特朗普联系起来。尽管这位共和党候选人在2024年总统大选中称苏努努为“失败者”，但特朗普仍然支持苏努努。

帕帕斯说：“当新罕布什尔州的家庭还在为生计苦苦挣扎时，约翰·苏努努却与唐纳德·特朗普沆瀣一气，支持那些迎合大公司和亿万富翁的政策，而这些政策却让花岗岩州（新罕布什尔州的别称）的居民生活更加艰难。”

民主党众议院提名之争异常激烈

斯蒂芬妮·沙欣赢得了第一选区的民主党提名，她将竞选帕帕斯留下的空缺席位。

在第二国会选区，民主党现任议员古德兰德击败了进步派挑战者佩奇·博舍曼。唐·威廉姆斯在第三次竞选该席位时赢得了共和党初选，并成为2024年选举的共和党候选人。

与此同时，政治新人迪洛伦佐在获得特朗普的支持后，轻松击败了其他三位候选人。

罗德岛初选

罗德岛州各地的选民明天将前往投票站投票。其中最受关注的选举是州长选举。

面临选民不满和低支持率的州长丹·麦基，正与挑战者海伦娜·福克斯角逐州长宝座。福克斯曾在2022年州长初选中挑战过麦基。数月来，福克斯在民调中一直保持两位数的领先优势。

哈里斯在2024年总统选举中以13.7个百分点的优势赢得了罗德岛州。