Chris Pappas Wins, Becoming First Openly Gay Man Elected to U.S. Senate

By Aigner “Anye Elite” Ellis | Icon City News

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas has won New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race, according to MS NOW’s election results, becoming the first openly gay man elected to the chamber.

According to NBC Boston’s election-night reporting, Sununu told supporters that he had called Pappas to congratulate him. “It is not our night,” the former senator said.

MS NOW’s New Hampshire results page listed Pappas as the winner Tuesday evening while ballots were still being counted. The race call is a projection, and the final vote margin remains unsettled.

Photo: Chris Pappas’ official congressional portrait, photographed by Nate Payne. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A specific first in LGBTQ history

The victory marks a specific first in national politics. The Associated Press identified the milestone in its coverage of the historic firsts at stake in the 2026 midterms.

Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay person elected to the Senate in 2012, as her official Senate biography records. Pappas is the first openly gay man elected to the chamber, extending that history of LGBTQ representation.

Pappas had already broken a barrier at home: his 2018 election made him New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress.

From Manchester to a statewide contest

Pappas will succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. His victory keeps the seat in Democratic hands.

Pappas’ campaign biography describes a Manchester upbringing, work in his family’s restaurant and three terms on New Hampshire’s Executive Council before Congress. He lives in Manchester with his husband, Vann.

His LGBTQ policy platform includes support for federal nondiscrimination protections and protections for LGBTQ veterans. Those commitments give the representation milestone a policy dimension: the next chapter concerns what he can help advance in the Senate.

Updated November 3, 2026, to reflect MS NOW’s race call. An earlier version reported Sununu’s concession while a formal call was still pending.