Former vice president Kamala Harris will visit New Hampshire this weekend, hoping to bolster Democrats’ chances in the Nov. 3 midterm election.
Harris will greet supporters and volunteers in Portsmouth and participate in a live recording of a reproductive rights podcast in Manchester on Saturday, both alongside U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who’s running in a tight race for the Senate.
The 2024 presidential candidate, who won New Hampshire by three points, is the latest in a string of big-name Democrats to lend a hand to Pappas. Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock have all traveled to the Granite State over the past month.
Pappas is in a close contest with Republican John E. Sununu for the Senate seat soon to be vacated by Jeanne Shaheen. The Cook Political Report, which analyzes election matchups across the country, categorized New Hampshire’s Senate race as leaning Democratic this month after previously listing it as a “toss-up.”
“This race could still end up being closer than it should be given the national environment,” analysts wrote. “Still, in a state where Trump is deeply underwater, we have to call Pappas the favorite here.”
New Hampshire voters may decide otherwise.
On a national level, polls and pundits are predicting a so-called “blue wave” on Nov. 3, due to voter frustrations with President Donald Trump and the economy. Democrats hope to capitalize on that discontent to flip both chambers of Congress, for which New Hampshire’s Senate match-up is key.
While Trump is visiting other states, like Iowa, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina this week to campaign for Republicans, he has not been to New Hampshire in this campaign cycle.
Harris, along with former president Barack Obama also endorsed the Democratic nominee for governor, Cinde Warmington, in her bid against Republican incumbent Kelly Ayotte.
“New Hampshire, I’m proud to support Cinde Warmington for Governor because I know she’ll bring the change that’s needed to make life more affordable,” Obama said in a statement on Thursday. “It’s time for a change and Cinde has a plan to help families get out from under skyrocketing costs and actually get ahead.”
Ayotte’s campaign hit back, posting on social media that Warmington’s embrace of national Democrats like Harris makes her “the candidate of more taxes and higher costs.”
Warmington, campaigning on lowering costs for residents, has closed the gap with Ayotte from 10 points in August to four points as of late September, according to polling from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. Ayotte, in her bid for reelection, is touting work on public safety and rolling out her own affordability initiatives, like free community college tuition.
