Republicans had hoped 2022 would be the cycle they could flip one, or both, of New Hampshire’s light blue congressional districts. But after GOP primary voters nominated Trump acolytes in both districts, Reps. Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster won reelection by comfortable margins — and it didn’t help that the overturning of Roe v. Wade motivated Democrats to the polls.
This cycle, Republicans have left New Hampshire on the backburner. Neither the National Republican Congressional Committee nor the Congressional Leadership Fund (the super PAC allied with House GOP leadership) have placed ad reservations in the state, a signal that they don’t expect to flip these seats. And if Republican primary voters pick hard-right candidates on Sept. 10, that could further jeopardize the GOP’s chances.
Pappas’ 1st District is a couple of points redder than the 2nd: Biden won the 1st by seven points in 2020, and Pappas won by eight in 2022. Before Pappas was elected in 2018, it swung back and forth between Republican Frank Guinta and Democrat Carol Shea-Porter, but Republican candidates have fallen short the past few
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