Democrats pick state official Pappas to contest key New Hampshire House seat

FAN Editor
Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress Chris Pappas greets voters at the Bridge Cafe in Manchester
Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress Chris Pappas greets voters at the Bridge Cafe ahead New Hampshire’s primary election in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

September 12, 2018

By Scott Malone and David Gaffen

(Reuters) – The owner of a restaurant popular with presidential hopefuls won a nominating contest on Tuesday in a notoriously fickle congressional district in New Hampshire, seen as a key prize in November elections when control of Congress will be at stake.

Former state legislator Chris Pappas, a member of the state’s executive council administrative body, won the Democratic race to succeed retiring Democrat Carol Shea-Porter in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, which has flipped four times between the two major parties this decade, tending to reflect the national political winds.

The Republican nominee had not yet been determined. The top contenders in that race were state Senator Andy Sanborn and a former police chief, Eddie Edwards.

Holding the district is crucial for Democrats as they seek to gain 23 seats to capture a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and try to thwart Republican President Donald Trump’s agenda.

All 435 seats in Congress, as well as one-third of the 100-member Senate, will be up for grabs in the Nov. 6 elections.

Pappas emerged from a crowded primary of 11 people, with his most notable competition coming from former Obama administration official and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Maura Sullivan. Pappas had more than 50 percent of the vote in a race that political oddsmaking firms say leans to the Democrats.

Voter dissatisfaction with Trump’s leadership has powered gains by Democrats in special elections at the federal and state level over the past 18 months. They are currently seen as modest favorites to retake the House.

Sullivan raised $1.8 million, more than double that of Pappas. In recent days, however, local media reported she had not voted in several previous elections and had only recently established residency in New Hampshire.

Pappas was endorsed by three of the four members of the state’s all-female congressional delegation. He is co-owner of the Puritan Backroom, a Manchester restaurant well-known for presidential candidate visits ahead of the state’s first-in-the-nation nominating primary. Manchester, which is part of the district, is the largest city in the state.

SWING DISTRICT

The district has a history of voting for the presidential winner – and then going against the party that holds the White House in subsequent congressional elections. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama won the district twice, while Trump carried it by 1 percentage point over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Another notable candidate in the Democratic race was Levi Sanders, son of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of neighboring Vermont, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. The Vermont lawmaker, despite endorsing dozens of candidates across the country, had not backed his son.

Sanders, who was criticized for not living in the district, had garnered only about 2 percent of the vote with about 20 percent of precincts counted.

Voters also picked former Democratic state Senator Molly Kelly to challenge popular incumbent Republican Governor Chris Sununu in November.

This week will set the final congressional match-ups ahead of the November general election, with Rhode Island set to vote on Wednesday. New York voters, who have already picked nominees for Congress, pick candidates on Thursday for governor and other state races.

(Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston and David Gaffen in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler and Peter Cooney)

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