Democrat Chris Pappas beats John Sununu in New Hampshire, to become first out gay man in Senate

Democrat Chris Pappas has won New Hampshire's US Senate race. In a closely fought contest against former senator John Sununu, he protected the open seat from a Republican flip.

Pappas is a four-term Democratic congressman. He will be the first out gay man to serve in the US Senate.

Pappas, 46, is a centrist voice in the US House who has at times broken with his party on major legislation. He focused his Senate campaign on serving as a bulwark against the Trump administration, which is unpopular in the Granite State.

The race to succeed Jeanne Shaheen, the retiring Democratic senator, became a late source of anxiety for Democrats, with the moderate Pappas locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Sununu.

Pappas secured endorsements from several prominent Democrats. He portrayed Sununu, who once called Donald Trump a 'loser', as a faux moderate who would ultimately rubber-stamp the president's agenda.

Pappas sought to capitalize on the Trump administration's low approval ratings, highlighting a range of unpopular policies on the campaign trail, from the war against Iran to Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Sununu, meanwhile, pitched himself as an independent-minded candidate. He had represented New Hampshire in the Senate before losing his seat in 2008.

Sununu worked to put distance between himself and Trump, despite securing the president's endorsement. He criticized the war in Iran, accused the administration of not doing enough to support Ukraine and even claimed in a recent campaign ad that he had 'never met' the president.