Republicans have their sights set on New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District seat, which is currently occupied by Democrat U.S. Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH-01).
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced it is targeting Pappas for defeat, and that there are four candidates in the Republican primary.
Former Trump administration State Department official Matt Mowers leads the field in funds raised as well as campaign cash in the bank as of the December 31, 2021 deadline. According to FEC records, Mowers has raised $840,840.73 and has $577,426.90 on hand. The financial race has been competitive thus far.
Former Trump administration Assistant Press Secretary under Kayleigh McEnany, Karoline Leavitt has raised $585,863.25 and has $425,545.14 cash on hand. Leavitt also served as communications director for Congresswoman and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21).
Journalist Gail Huff Brown has raised $563,114.67 and has $418,758.95 on hand. Brown is the wife of former U.S. Senator and Trump administration Ambassador to New Zealand, Scott Brown.
New Hampshire State Representative Tim Baxter (R-Riverside) has raised $498,737.73 and has $367,359.09 in the bank. Baxter’s voting record earned him a 92% score from both the NRA and New Hampshire Firearms Association, as well as a 94% score from the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance.
All four of these candidates in the GOP primary have attained the initial level in the NRCC’s Young Guns program, On the Radar. The Young Guns program allows the NRCC to assess the campaigns and determine the progress they are making. Fundraising, grassroots contacts, polling, and other data are used to help the NRCC determine how to allocate the resources for the district. In certain cases, it can also help the NRCC to determine whether to endorse a candidate prior to achieving the Republican nomination.
Given that all Republican four candidates have raised significant money and are likely to spend significant money to attain the nomination, NRCC resources after the nomination, along with help from other interested PACs will likely be important.
The primary is scheduled for September 13. The filing deadline is June 10.
FEC records show Pappas, the Democrat incumbent, has a significant financial edge over all possible opponents. For the 2022 cycle, he has raised $1,613,514.49 and has $1,416,307.21 cash on hand. Pappas has represented NH-1 since 2019.
The 1st district as currently drawn is considered a swing district. Since 2010, control of the seat has switched back and forth between the Democrat and Republican parties four times.
Under the current district lines, which will be changed because of redistricting, Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight gives the seat a partisan rating of R+1. New Hampshire is one of the four states that has yet to complete its redistricting process. If the current map proposal, which passed the state House in January and has recently passed the New Hampshire Senate Election Law Committee, is enacted into law and survives potential legal challenges, then NH-1 will become significantly more Republican-leaning in partisan makeup.
The proposed map removes a significant number of Democrat voters from the 1st district and gives them to the 2nd district.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Connecticut Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Matt Mowers” by Matt Mowers. Photo “Tim Baxter” by Tim Baxter. Photo “Gail Huff Brown” by Gail Huff Brown. Photo “Karoline Leavitt” by Karoline Leavitt. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by Martin Falbisoner. CC BY-SA 3.0.
