New Hampshire Congressman Chris Pappas First Gay Man Elected To U.S. Senate

New Hampshire Congressman Chris Pappas has become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate. It comes after the Democrat defeated Republican John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the Senate from 2003-2009.

Pappas is just the third openly LGBTQ+ person to be elected to the Senate, following former senators Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema. 

Speaking to supporters, Pappas said his win was a “victory for Team New Hampshire over the broken status quo”, as per the Associated Press. 

“Tonight’s results are a wake-up call for corporate special interests and billionaires who have been rigging the economy, for the cowards in Congress who have enabled health care cuts, tariffs and war, and for the incompetent president who can’t even be bothered to care how people are being hurt,” Pappas said. 

The news comes alongside another major win for LGBTQ+ representation in the U.S. Government, with trans congresswoman Sarah McBride becoming the first trans woman to win reelection to Congress as her state’s sole representative.

Chris Pappas On Being LGBTQ+

Chris Pappas is openly gay, having married husband Vann Bentley in February 2023.

In an interview with the Washington Blade late last month, Pappas spoke on the pride he holds for his home New England state, and its acceptance of LGBTQ+ identity.

“I’m really proud of who I am, but [I am] more proud of the fact that New Hampshire embraces people from different walks of life,” Pappas said. “This is a state that fundamentally believes that everyone should be able to be themselves, and we’re stronger when everyone has the same rights and responsibilities.”

Chris Pappas’ Politics

Much of Pappas election campaign focussed on corporate special interests corrupting the U.S. Government, with Pappas vowing to stop billionaires like Elon Musk from buying U.S. elections

“I think people, regardless of their politics, have a sense that the system is not working, that there are special interests and big corporations that have outsized influence in our political system,” Pappas said in a video posted to his Instagram page.

“Everywhere we go, we hear it. Veterans, parents, small business owners, people who have done everything right, asking ‘why does it feel like the system is rigged?’.”