Representative Chris Pappas, a Democrat from New Hampshire, will become the Senate’s first openly gay male senator after defeating former Republican senator John E. Sununu on Tuesday. Pappas will take the seat held by Jeanne Shaheen, who did not seek re-election after three terms.
The milestone comes as LGBTQ+ rights have encountered resistance in some states, while some gay rights activists have raised concerns about declining public support. Pappas did not make the historic significance a major focus of his campaign. Instead, he emphasized issues including high prices, health care costs and opposition to corruption in Washington.
“I think people, regardless of their politics, really just want their neighbors to be able to be themselves,” Pappas told The New York Times in October.
Pappas, 46, has served four terms in the House and chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus. Before his political career, he was associated with his family’s Manchester, New Hampshire, restaurant, the Puritan Backroom. He first won election to the state legislature at age 22, beginning a career in New Hampshire politics before entering Congress in 2018.
Representative Barney Frank came out as gay in 1987, after six years in the House. In 2012, Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay person elected to the Senate.
Sources: The New York Times Politics.