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2026 New Hampshire Senate Election

Tossup
Open (Shaheen retiring)

About this race

With the current officeholder retiring, this seat will have a new winner. Forecasters say it’s too close to call — one of the most competitive races of the year. Chris Pappas, a Democrat, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, but the exact amount is still being confirmed. John E. Sununu, a Republican, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, but the exact amount is still being confirmed.

Key issues in New Hampshire

Major issues facing New Hampshire, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.

Candidates & funding

Chris Pappas Democrat Nominee

AIPAC-linkedamount under verification
FundVoter lists an AIPAC-linked FEC record for this candidate; the dollar amount is still under verification.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$15,384,657 raised · $11,540,323 spent · $4,251,918 cash on hand through Aug 19, 2026
Focus: Helping working Granite Staters get ahead and taking on a rigged system

John E. Sununu Republican Nominee

AIPAC-linkedamount under verification
FundVoter lists an AIPAC-linked FEC record for this candidate; the dollar amount is still under verification.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$4,180,252 raised · $1,110,715 spent · $3,070,033 cash on hand through Aug 19, 2026
Focus: Independent, practical, results-oriented; fought government waste, defended privacy, protected seniors

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Aug 19, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

Chris Pappas DJohn E. Sununu R
Raised$15.4M$4.2M
Individuals$13.5M88%$2.4M57%
PACs & parties$1.1M7%$479K11%
Self-funded$0$0
Other$751K5%$1.3M31%
AIPAC-linked*——
Outside spending†——

* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.

† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.

“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.

Who are the biggest donors?

Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.

Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.

Chris Pappas 9912 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$15.4M
Campaign spent$11.5M
Cash on hand$4.3M
FEC 2026 through 08/19/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals88%
PACs / committees7%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Individual$15K
  • Labor PAC$15K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$11K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Membership PAC$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K

Showing the 50 biggest of 9912 donors. The other 9862 gave $9.1M combined.

Plus $4.8M from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Chris Pappas’s full FEC filings →

John E. Sununu 1384 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$4.2M
Campaign spent$1.1M
Cash on hand$3.1M
FEC 2026 through 08/19/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals57%
PACs / committees11%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Party committee$62K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Membership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$9K
  • Individual$8K
  • Trade association PAC$8K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K

Showing the 50 biggest of 1384 donors. The other 1334 gave $1.9M combined.

Plus $514K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See John E. Sununu’s full FEC filings →

These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.

More New Hampshire races

← Nevada District 4New Hampshire District 1 →
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