At a recent event, the only time the New Hampshire congressman brought up the former senator’s name was to say he would be a rubber stamp for the president.
Nashua, N.H. — As he attempts to preserve Democratic control over a key Senate seat in the midterm elections, Representative Chris Pappas is running as much against Donald Trump as he is against his Republican opponent.
As he tried along with Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia to invigorate volunteers on Tuesday at a local field office for a Democratic grassroots group, there was no consistent theme to Pappas’s remarks aside from stopping Trump from pursuing his agenda. The congressman attacked the president far more than he did former New Hampshire Senator John Sununu, the Republican in the race.
“We are all working together from top to bottom to win in November, because that’s how we reestablish power for the people,” Pappas said. “That’s how we provide checks and balances. That’s how we hold the reckless leadership of Donald Trump to account. That’s how we move our country forward.”
Pappas’s emphasis on the unpopular president is unsurprising, and it is probably sound strategy as he competes not only against the former senator but also against the Sununu family name. John Sununu’s father and brother both served in the state’s governor’s mansion, and he himself served one term in the Senate, which he won in 2002 before losing reelection in 2008.
While most polls show Pappas with a comfortable lead over Sununu, some surveys have indicated the race could be close. Although the political environment in the country is likely to be a drag on the GOP on Election Day, New Hampshire Republicans could still outperform other members of their party across the country. For example, Governor Kelly Ayotte, who is running for reelection, is leading in basically every public poll in her race.
As he attempts to ride the blue wave, Pappas is trying his best to tie Sununu to Trump. The only time he brought up the former senator’s name was to argue that he would be a rubber stamp for the president.
“We’ve got to step up and speak out for hardworking New Hampshire families that are getting screwed by the Trump agenda right now,” he said. “And John Sununu is just along for the ride with MAGA.”
For his part, Sununu has been up-front in his criticism of Trump. In a piece published Monday in the Wall Street Journal, he attacked both Trump’s trade war with Canada and his proposal to send Americans $5,000 checks. At a recent event, he also bashed Trump’s strategy in the Iran war and the Justice Department’s now-defunct “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that some Republicans feared would be used to compensate January 6 rioters.
“I’ve never met the president,” he said in the Journal‘s report. “If he pushes for policies that aren’t good for New Hampshire, I’m going to oppose them. If he pushes for policies that I think are right for New Hampshire, I’ll support them.”
During his speech, Pappas did not zero in on one particular issue, instead promising a laundry list of Democratic priorities — preserving Social Security, fighting climate change and pollution, stopping Trump and Republicans from appointing another conservative Supreme Court Justice, codifying Roe v. Wade, and overturning Citizens United, the landmark case that allowed unlimited political donations from corporations.
“This is a broken system. It’s been broken for a long time,” Pappas said. “We’ve got to turn the page on Trump and confront the damage that he’s causing to this country, but this isn’t about going back to some moment before Trump was in office. It’s about planning for the future, rising to the occasion, building a fairer economy, taking on the entrenched power and special interests that are making life worse, and building a better future and a better day for everyone who calls New Hampshire home.”
Warnock, meanwhile, paid special attention to Trump’s tariffs, which have proven unpopular. New Hampshire shares a border with Canada and counts the country as a major trade partner. Warnock called the tariffs “just taxes — on everything.”
“The politician who has taxed you the most is a man sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.,” Warnock said.