HISTORY: First US openly gay Senator emerges…

New Hampshire voters elected Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, making him the first out gay man elected to the chamber and keeping retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s seat in Democratic hands

New Hampshire voters have elected Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas to the U.S. Senate, making him the first out gay man elected to the chamber, The Advocate reports.

Decision Desk HQ called the race at 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, with Pappas defeating Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu. With 22 percent of votes counted, Pappas led 60 percent to 37 percent.

Pappas will succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Sununu held the seat from 2003 to 2009 and lost to Shaheen in 2008.

Pappas was first elected to the House in 2018, becoming New Hampshire’s first out LGBTQ+ member of Congress. In a 2025 interview with The Advocate, he said: “To me, I’ve never sought to make history.”

His record has drawn scrutiny: he supported the 2024 defense authorization bill despite a provision restricting Tricare coverage of gender-affirming care for transgender minors, which he said he opposed.