Harris returns to New Hampshire to stump for Democrats

(The Center Square) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris visited New Hampshire on Saturday to stump for U.S. Senate candidate Chris Pappas and other Democrats ahead of the pivotal midterm election.

Harris returned to the state for the first time since the 2024 presidential campaign to headline a get-out-the-vote and phone-banking event in Portsmouth with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and attend campaign events with Pappas, House candidate Stefany Shaheen, and New Hampshire gubernatorial candidate Cinde Warmington. 

The former vice president, who lost to Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, called the president a "tyrant" and said his administration is "the most callous, corrupt and incompetent" in U.S. history. The former California lawmaker urged Democrats to intensify voter turnout efforts, with less than two weeks until the Nov. 3 election. 

"This is that moment where the people get to speak, and the people show their power, and they make clear, we're never going to let anyone take our power from us," Harris said in remarks at a Manchester forum. "This is that moment, and that is so darn exciting."

Scott Maltzie, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, criticized Harris' visit to the state and said it won't help Pappas hold onto the seat for Democrats in the midterms. 

"Here we go again. Corrupt Chris Pappas is bringing in failed presidential candidate and disastrous VP Kamala Harris to help him," Maltzie said in a statement. "Why is it that Pappas keeps bringing in failed democrats to our state. What does it say about how the Democratic Party views New Hampshire? Granite Staters deserve better treatment than laughable Harris."

New Hampshire currently has an all-Democratic congressional delegation and voted for Harris in the 2024 presidential election by a margin of 2.8 percentage points, though the California native ultimately lost the election to Trump.

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Pappas defeated several challengers in the Democratic primary to win the party's nomination. He has sought to tie Sununu to President Trump's divisive policies and argues that the former senator would be a sure vote for the president if elected.

Sununu, a member of one of New Hampshire's most storied political families, served in the U.S. Senate from 2003 to 2008 before he was defeated by Shaheen. He beat former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in the Sept. 8 Republican primary. Sununu argues that he would be better positioned to bring home federal funding and resources for the Granite State as a Republican, with Trump in the White House for the next two years.

Both men are competing in the wide-open race to replace outgoing Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a three-term Democrat who is retiring. The race has drawn national attention as a potential win for Republicans as they battle to hold onto control of the U.S. Senate in the upcoming midterm elections, when much of Congress is up for grabs. Democrats are hoping to hold onto the seat as they push to win a majority in the upper chamber.

Republicans have a 53-45 edge over Democrats in the U.S. Senate, with two independents caucusing with the minority party.

A Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll, released last week, shows Pappas leading Sununu 50% to 43%, with 2% of likely voters undecided. 

Cook Political Report, a top handicapper for congressional races, rates the contest a toss up while Decision Desk HQ says the seat is likely to remain in Democrats’ hands.