New Hampshire primary elections test Trump endorsements, Democratic momentum on September 8

New Hampshire voters will cast ballots in primary elections on Tuesday, September 8, with polls closing between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET. The races test both President Trump's endorsement power within the Republican Party and whether progressive candidates can sustain a streak of primary victories in Democratic contests.

The Republican Senate primary centers on a high-profile endorsement. Trump backed former U.S. Senator John Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the Senate from 2003 through 2008 after serving in the House and then lost his 2008 re-election bid to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Sununu's opponent is Scott Brown, a former Massachusetts senator who held that seat for three years, ran for New Hampshire Senate in 2014, and served as Trump's ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa during Trump's first term. Sununu has support from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Sununu's brother and father both served as New Hampshire governors.

The Democratic Senate primary opened after Shaheen's retirement. Rep. Chris Pappas, who has won his House seat since 2018, is considered the front-runner for the Democratic Senate nomination. He faces Karishma Manzur, a scientist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America who supports Medicare for All and has criticized Pappas over support and funding for Israel, saying he is enabling genocide.

In the Democratic 1st District House primary, multiple candidates are competing. Maura Sullivan is a marine veteran, former congressional candidate, and former Defense Department official viewed as an establishment Democrat. Stefany Shaheen, daughter of retiring Senator Shaheen, is a health advocate and former Portsmouth City councilwoman. Over the weekend, Army National Guard officer Christian Urrutia, who had been running as a progressive, ended his campaign and backed Shaheen. Progressive Carleigh Beriont, a union organizer, is a top contender; Heath Howard, who was backed by the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter, dropped out of the race and endorsed Beriont.

The 1st District Republican primary features auto businessman Anthony DiLorenzo, backed by Trump and other Republican leaders, competing against state Rep. Brian Cole and Hollie Noveletsky, a military veteran and CEO of her family iron company. Pappas won re-election in the 1st District by 8 points in 2024, though then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried the district by just 2 points. A crowded field is running in both parties' primaries in the district.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander faces a primary challenge from state Rep. Paige Beauchemin, a former nurse who entered politics in 2023. Beauchemin is running as an unabashed progressive, calling for halting data center construction, new regulations on the artificial intelligence industry, Medicare for All, labeling Israel's conduct in Gaza a genocide, and abolishing ICE. Beauchemin brought in $44,000 to Goodlander's $4.2 million in campaign fundraising and hasn't drawn any outside support from progressive groups. Goodlander is a first-term lawmaker who gained national prominence as one of the national security-minded Democratic lawmakers who made a video telling the military that members could refuse illegal orders.

In the gubernatorial races, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte is running for a second two-year term and is not facing any major primary challengers. The Democratic nominee for governor is all but certain to be Cinde Warmington, a former New Hampshire Executive Council member who faces no major competitors and unsuccessfully sought her party's gubernatorial nomination in 2024. The state context: Trump lost New Hampshire by 3 points in 2024, and the GOP has not won a Senate race in New Hampshire since 2010.