Progressive long-shot takes on Democratic establishment in New Hampshire Senate race

In New Hampshire, progressives are facing strong headwinds in a race to replace retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, with political outsider Kashima Manzur fighting an uphill battle against a four-term congressman, Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., who has the weight of the Democratic establishment behind him.

Paul Hodes, who represented New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District from 2007 to 2011, told Salon that he sees the first challenge for the Manzur campaign would need to tackle being name recognition.

“He [Pappas]was the front-runner from the get-go — because in politics, name recognition is one of the most important things that you deal with,” Hodes said. “He’s been a good, steady member of Congress and hasn’t gotten into any trouble with the electorate. And remember that the district he’s represented tends to be the purpler and more conservative district in New Hampshire.”

In New Hampshire, Pappas leads Manzur with 64% support to her 8% support, with Democratic state Rep. Jared Sullivan, who is also running, at 2% support, according to a November Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll.

Manzur is facing similarly steep headwinds in the realm of fundraising. Manzur, who is refusing donations from corporate PACs and special interest groups, has raised some $42,000 from small-dollar donations, while Pappas’ campaign has already raised $4.2 million.

Some of the PACs supporting Pappas in his Senate bid include No Labels PAC, a centrist group that explored a third-party bid for the White House in 2024, and leadership PACs associated with major figures in the Democratic Party nationally, like Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Chris Pappas’s campaign declined Salon’s request for comment.

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Leadership PACs like these have been a significant part of Pappas’s financial base for years, giving him more than $400,000 in the 2024 cycle, per OpenSecrets. His all-time top contributor is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, something Pappas has been criticized for in New Hampshire.

The disparity in institutional support has led to a grassroots campaign from Manzur, who told Salon in an interview that she has taken to doing the rounds at the local Democratic Party committees in New Hampshire, which are required to maintain neutrality in contested primaries. She has also been holding town halls, which have so far received healthy attendance — the first one had about 150 attendees, both in-person and online.

Supporters of Manzur on college campuses are also organizing on the ground efforts under the banner “Students for Karishma,” though the organization, still in the early stages, is not officially connected to the campaign.

Despite the odds, Manzur told Salon that she’s hoping to take advantage of New Hampshire being a small state. In 2020, just 151,000 people voted in the Democratic Primary for Senate. Manzur’s theory is that, in a state like New Hampshire, famous for the retail politics of its presidential primary, even a relatively small group of volunteers can move the needle.

At the same time, Manzur has acknowledged that without the megaphone that millions of dollars in campaign funds provide, it’s harder to get her message to the voters who will decide the primary. Because of this, she and her supporters have indicated that they’re interested in partnering with progressive groups and leaders from across the country.

So far, she’s received the endorsement of Peace Action, an anti-nuclear proliferation organization, and Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption, the electoral arm of Track AIPAC, a group that monitors the donations politicians receive from the pro-Israel lobby.

“So I’m a scientist, and I analyzed whether a grassroots campaign could work,” Manzur said. “Was this going to be a project that was going to be winnable? And the answer was yes. Geographically, we’re a small state, three hours north to south, three hours east to west, so we don’t have to fly around like California or New York or Michigan. You can access all these places and still go back and sleep in your own bed. And we have a small population of only 1.4 million people and we are political junkies here.”

Suaj Budathoki, a member of the New Hampshire state House supporting Manzur, said that her campaign can shift the conversation in the Senate race towards major changes in the way that the American economy works and potentially transformative policies like Medicare for All. He also thinks Manzur has credibility on these and other issues, because of her refusal to accept donations from corporate PACs.

“At this time, her goal is to share her ideas, how we can help people in New Hampshire and beyond. There are so many people relying on meager support from the federal government, and she’s helping bring out those problems, and then sharing her ideas to solve those things,” Budathoki said.

Budathoki also called on the Democratic Party to stay out of the primary. While the party itself has remained neutral, many of its elected officials have thrown their weight behind Pappas. He’s hoping that some progressives in the party will, in turn, back Manzur, and, while he alluded to some conversations happening behind the scenes, he couldn’t speak to whether this might happen in the near future.

The post Progressive long-shot takes on Democratic establishment in New Hampshire Senate race appeared first on Salon.com.