Primaries – especially for Democrats in these midterms – are often dominated by talk about that elusive trait: electability.
With a U.S. Senate race expected to be decided by a thin margin in November, Adam Pignatelli was primarily driven to choose a Democratic nominee based on who he felt was more likely to hold sway in a general election.
That meant casting his vote for four-term Congressman Chris Pappas.
“He’s got the experience, and he’s been there,” Pignatelli said.
In New Hampshire, Pignatelli said, name recognition and electability are synonyms.
“It takes a name to run in this state. We’ve already seen that,” he said, listing off a few well-known ones, like Shaheen.
When it comes to recognizable names, John E. Sununu, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, certainly has one.
“I think Chris is going to have the best chance,” Pignatelli said of Pappas, because of his established presence.
Still, he’s worried about the more progressive, Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated candidate Karishma Manzur, “Especially after watching some of the debate the other night.”
