2026 senate race: Scott Brown launches bid to flip battleground New Hampshire seat from blue to red; Pappas criticizes

Former ambassador and former senator Scott Brown launched his campaign for senate in the swing state of New Hampshire on Wednesday.“I’m running for the United States senate to restore common sense, keep our border secure, and fight for our New Hampshire values,” Brown, a Republican, said in a campaign video announcement, posted on X.

Brown, a former senator from neighbouring Massachusetts, is the first major Republican to jump into the 2026 battle, entering the race to replace retiring longtime Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. But this is not his first attempt. He was 2014 senate GOP nominee in New Hampshire, losing to Shaheen in a close contest.The race is expected to be competitive and one with high stakes. Senate Republicans are eyeing to flip the decade-long congressional delegation from the New England state from blue to red, alongside targeting Georgia and Michigan to expand their 53-478 majority in the chamber.Brown, who served as ambassador to New Zealand in the first Trump administration, praised the President, who lost the battleground state to former vice-president Kamala Harris with a narrow margin last November, in his launch video, saying that Trump “is fighting every day to right the ship. He sealed the border, he stood up to China, and he restored our standing in the world.”His announcement follows former New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu’s earlier decision not to launch a senate campaign, despite President Trump publicly expressing his desire for the well-liked moderate to enter the race.

In his campaign launch video, Brown took aim at former President Joe Biden and New Hampshire representative Chris Pappas, who, as of now, seems to be the uncontested frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the Senate race. Pointing to what he charged was "the soaring inflation, open borders, rising crime and extreme-left policies" of the Biden administration, Brown argued, "Chris Pappas has stood with Joe Biden every step of the way, from opening the border to driving up the cost of everything.

It’s time for a change." He added, “Chris Pappas wants a better title,” he said. “I want a better America.”Pappas' campaign was quick to fire back."While Scott Brown looks for yet another opportunity to do Wall Street’s bidding and blindly support President Trump and his agenda, I’ll always put New Hampshire first," the four-term congressman said in a statement to Fox News.The New Hampshire Democratic party also took a shot at Brown, "Scott Brown is a Trump loyalist running for senate to do the bidding of Wall Street and big corporations and support Trump’s reckless agenda of chaotic tariffs, gutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and pushing an extreme abortion agenda.

New Hampshire voters rejected Brown once before, and they will reject him again," longtime state party chair Ray Buckley argued in a statement.While Brown may be the first major Republican in the race he is not the only Republican eyeing nomination. Businessman and lawyer Phil Taub, widely recognized for his veterans-focused charity, ‘Swim with a Mission’, is weighing a potential senate run. Other possible contenders include state senator Dan Innis and businessman Walter McFarlane.Brown has been laying the groundwork for another senate run for several months, including joining GOP senators at their weekly lunch in March and maintaining connections with the Republican senate campaign organization.