Sununu vs. Pappas: Where the candidates stand in the fundraising battle

New Hampshire’s recent U.S. Senate elections have had one recurring characteristic: staggering amounts of money raised and spent.

That standard was set in 2016, when the contest between then-Gov. Maggie Hassan and then-Sen. Kelly Ayotte set a state record for the total amount of fundraising from all candidates, and in 2022, when Hassan defeated Republican Don Bolduc with the biggest-ever fundraising haul from one candidate. 

But another dynamic has taken hold in recent New Hampshire election cycles: the Democrat in the race for U.S. Senate has vastly outraised the Republican in individual campaign contributions, while the Republican has been helped by outside spending.

Now, as Chris Pappas faces John Sununu in the general election, some of those same fundraising patterns are playing out. Pappas has significantly outraised Sununu, but Sununu has been more conservative with his spending, and has benefited from outside spending.

With Pappas and Sununu neck-and-neck in recent surveys, and national Democrats reportedly considering the need to shore up Pappas’ fundraising, there is plenty of time for the money battle to escalate between now and Nov. 3. Less clear: How much money will have been spent before the dust settles. 

The latest fundraising numbers come from Federal Elections Commission records from Aug. 19 — the most recent federal filing period — meaning much could have changed in the 26 days since. The next FEC deadline for monthly election fundraising tallies is Sept. 20.

Still, here is what to know about the current state of fundraising in the race for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat.

Pappas’ individual fundraising is supreme

As of Aug. 19, Pappas had far outraised Sununu, collecting $14.6 million in contributions during the campaign cycle, which technically began Jan. 1, 2025. Sununu raised $4.1 million by Aug. 19. 

The two campaigns also differed in the amount of money that came from individual contributors — 92% for Pappas, compared to 57.5% for Sununu.

But both candidates share something in common: The vast majority of the money they raised in their latest report came from out-of-state donors. For Pappas, 80.6% came from out of state; for Sununu, it was 85.6%, according to Open Secrets, a website that tracks campaign spending. Both candidates’ top out-of-state fundraising cities were Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Pappas has also been lifted by labor groups; labor-related political action committees have constituted about $177,000, or 20%, of his overall PAC receipts, Open Secrets records show, a relative advantage over Sununu. 

Sununu has saved money for the general

Though he has raised more than three times that of Sununu, Pappas has also been spending that money at a far higher rate than Sununu, too.

The Democratic congressman spent most of the money he collected ahead of the Sept. 8 primary — 79% — devoting the bulk of that spending to advertising. Sununu, meanwhile, was thriftier, burning through just 26.8% of his contributions by Aug. 19.

The result is that despite Pappas’ superior fundraising overall, the candidates bank accounts were close heading into September: $3.02 million for Sununu and $3.84 million for Pappas. 

Sununu supporters have pointed to polls indicating a tightening of the race to suggest the Democrat’s fervent spending has so far not helped him stem a steady loss of support. A January 2026 University of New Hampshire survey found that Pappas had a 6% advantage over Sununu, with 49% of respondents supporting Pappas and 43% supporting Sununu. But a subsequent Aug. 20-24 UNH survey found a near-even race, with 45% supporting Sununu and 43% Pappas, a difference within the margin of error. 

An Aug. 17 St. Anselm poll, meanwhile, found that 48% favor Pappas and 41% Sununu, and that Pappas’ unfavorable rating had grown from 43% in June to 51% in August. 

Both sides are preparing an ad blitz

With the primaries completed, both parties are hoping to blanket the Boston-Manchester designated media market with advertising for and against Sununu and Pappas.

As of Friday, Republican television advertising spending in the Senate race had leaped to $27 million, compared to $15.9 million for Democrats. That was in part the result of $9.6 million in bulk purchases made by the Republican political action committee No Going Back on Sept. 8 in New Hampshire and five other battleground states, according to AdImpact: Alaska, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio. 

Outside spending by Republican-aligned groups likely to help Sununu

By the end of the 2022 election, Bolduc had raised a fraction of the amount Hassan had — $4.8 million compared to Hassan’s $41.6 million. 

But Bolduc had a lot more help from outside groups, who collectively spent $30.2 million to try to boost him, compared to the $17.8 million of outside group spending devoted to Hassan, according to OpenSecrets. The outside spending helped even the fundraising scales, though Hassan ultimately won the race with 53.5% to Bolduc’s 44.4%.

In 2026, Sununu also benefited from outside spending ahead of the Sept. 8 primary, particularly by Americans for Prosperity, which endorsed him and spent nearly $2 million toward his candidacy ahead of September. That number is twice as much as the candidate spent out of his own campaign coffers as of Aug. 19: He disbursed about $1.1 million, according to the FEC.

Neither candidate is at 2022 levels — yet

While Pappas’ individual fundraising indicates an expensive race, it so far has not approached Hassan’s $41.6 million 2022 fundraising amount, which came halfway through President Joe Biden’s term, at a time when Democrats were desperately hoping to stave off an anticipated “red wave.” The Aug. 19 filing puts Pappas at about 37% of the way to matching Hassan. 

Sununu, meanwhile, had nearly matched Bolduc’s entire 2022 haul before the primary even began. 

But with seven weeks to go, and increasing Democratic agitation over keeping New Hampshire — crucial to their hopes of retaking the Senate majority — anything could happen.