Democrats won both of New Hampshire’s congressional seats on Tuesday, one a political newcomer and the other a seasoned campaigner with a long history of elected office in the state.

In the 1st Congressional District, Democrat Chris Pappas won a fourth consecutive term in Congress, defeating Republican Russell Prescott.

And in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, Maggie Goodlander — in her first campaign — defeated Republican Lily Tang Williams. Goodlander succeeds six-term Assemblywoman Annie Kuster, who did not seek re-election this year.

The results mean New Hampshire’s federal delegation will remain an all-Democratic slate, with both U.S. Senate seats currently held equally by Democrats.

“Tonight, I am truly honored by the vote of confidence from the people of New Hampshire to continue our work for the next two years,” Pappas told supporters gathered at Manchester’s Puritan Backroom, his family’s restaurant. “I am here to work on behalf of all the people who call New Hampshire home.”

The state’s 1st District has been considered a swing district over the past two decades, with Republicans and Democrats regularly trading control of the seat. But Pappas has now won four races in a row, including the last two decisively. In this campaign, as in his past victories, Pappas presented himself as a bipartisan consensus builder focused on critical issues like drug pricing, veterans’ needs and infrastructure.

The Associated Press called Pappas’ race around 11:45 p.m., with 54 percent of the vote.

In an interview with WMUR Tuesday evening, Prescott thanked his family, including his eight grandchildren.

“I did this for them so they would see an example of how you can be a public servant and talk about issues without becoming something so negative,” Prescott said. “Politics shouldn’t be like this.”

Pappas draws on years of campaign experience

Pappas is the first person to win four consecutive terms in the 1st District since Norman D’Amours, a Democrat who held that seat for five terms from 1974 to 1984.

In their debates, Pappas and Prescott presented themselves to the voters as measured and experienced politicians while touting their respective deep roots in New Hampshire. Pappas faces some criticism from the left flank of his party for his continued support of Israeli military operations in Gaza, but he has also frequently spoken about his support for reproductive rights to gain support from Democrats and independents. Prescott, a former executive councilor and state senatorhighlighted his financial management skills as a small business owner, as well as the need to push for a balanced budget in Washington.

In 2022, Prescott finished fourth in the Republican primary for that same seat. The GOP candidate in that race, Karoline Leavitt, lost to Pappas by more than eight percentage points.

Pappas, at 44, is a seasoned politician. He served in the State House of Representatives, winning his first race in 2002 at the age of 22. He also served as Hillsborough County Treasurer and served three terms on the Executive Council before running for Congress in 2018.

Pappas leveraged his Manchester roots and combined them with his appeal in some progressive circles in New Hampshire, including the Seacoast region, said Jim Demers, a longtime Democratic figure and state political observer.

“He’s established himself as someone who can hold this seat for a long time, if he decides that’s what he wants to do,” Demers said.

Goodlander wins his first election campaign

Goodlander, on the other hand, was running for office for the first time this year.

“Whether you voted for me or not, if I have the honor of representing you, I will work for you – all of you – in the people’s house,” Goodlander told a room of supporters on the Bank stage of New Hampshire in Concord. . “That means you will be on my mind wherever I am, wherever I go.”

As of 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Goodlander had won 53 percent of the vote, compared to Tang Williams’ 47 percent, according to results from the Associated Press.

For Goodlander, the victory was the highlight of a meteoric rise in state politics. Before this year, she was a relatively unknown figure who had built her career in Washington, D.C., working in a variety of federal jobs: as a clerk at the Supreme Court, as an attorney at the Department of Justice, as a member Capitol staff and as an advisor to the Biden White House. But after returning to her hometown of Nashua earlier this year and defeating Colin Van Ostern in a hard-fought Democratic primary in September, Goodlander will now represent the state in Congress.

On the campaign trail, she presented herself to voters as a “workhorse” who could thrive on Capitol Hill. She is married to Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s US national security adviser. And his candidacy has received support from Democrats at the highest levels, including Hillary Clinton and, locally, former New Hampshire Governor John Lynch.

But she also draws inspiration from her childhood in Nashua and her family’s political history during her campaign. Goodlander talked about being able to see the hospital where she was born and her great-grandfather’s shoe factory from the living room of the Nashua apartment she rented once she decided to run for Congress. His mother Betty Tamposi, a former state lawmaker, was featured in his advertisements.

Goodlander often showed it off support for reproductive rights as the cornerstone of his campaign, basing this policy position on the story of his personal experience with access to health care following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. She also highlighted the idea of ​​a “fair deal” which includes support for a range of efforts such as affordable health care, tax reform and access to housing.

This contrasted with Tang Williams, who heavily focused on immigration and fiscal discipline in its messages to voters. Tang Williams ran for Congress in Colorado in 2016 as a Libertarian before moving to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. Throughout her campaign, she spoke of her childhood in China and her immigration to the United States.

At Goodlander’s victory party Tuesday night, pop music lifted the spirits of his supporters. Among them was Lynch, who said he was excited about the emergence of a new state politician.

“I think she’s going to be a new face for Washington; she had an incredible experience,” he said. “It’s incredible what she did. She is very, very impartial. So I think she will be able to work with people on both sides to craft important legislation for New Hampshire and for the country.