By
/ CBS News
Washington — Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who's running to represent New Hampshire in the Senate, said on Sunday that "we're taking nothing for granted" as Election Day approaches, amid a "tough race" in the Granite State.
"I'm hopeful about where we're going to end up at the end of this thing, but we've got to put in the work over the next 23 days," Pappas said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."
Pappas, who's represented New Hampshire in the House since 2019, is facing off against former GOP Sen. John Sununu in a race that could be key to determining which party controls the Senate. And although Republicans have been eyeing a possible opportunity to flip the seat, after Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced she wouldn't seek reelection, CBS News rates New Hampshire as leaning Democrat.
But Pappas said given New Hampshire's status as a purple state generally and the state's lack of early voting options, his campaign is taking nothing for granted. The focus now is on "how we get to those independent, swing voters, how we energize the base, how we reach out to Republicans over the next 23 days to win a tough race," he said.
Pappas noted that the 2016 Senate race in New Hampshire came down to just over 1,000 votes, and acknowledged how his opponent's family has been dominant in Granite State politics.
"I'm up against a candidate with a very famous political pedigree in New Hampshire. He's been a U.S. senator before," Pappas said. "But this isn't about going back to the failed politicians with failed ideas from the past, it's about looking ahead to the future."
Sununu, the son of former Gov. John H. Sununu and brother of former Gov. Chris Sununu, represented New Hampshire in the House and Senate until he lost his reelection bid to Shaheen in 2008. And with a record of breaking with President Trump, he's distanced himself from the president as he campaigns to return to the upper chamber amid an unpopular war with Iran and high gas prices.
But Pappas tied Sununu's campaign to the president's agenda more broadly, and positioned the contest as a larger fight for the Senate majority.
"The fact is, Donald Trump has said this, that 'pretend I'm on the ballot,'" Pappas said. "He's on the ballot through candidates like John Sununu, who will maintain his majority in the U.S. Senate, will make it harder for us to hold this administration to account to address the culture of corruption in Washington and fight to lower costs for New Hampshire families."
Asked about Democrats' priorities should they win control of the House and Senate, Pappas said "we have to focus like a laser on the economic challenges that people are living right now."
"We have to put some wins on the board for workers and the middle class," he said. "We can do that by building on the success of the housing bill that we passed to invest in the affordable housing stock that we need, to work to end this war and lower energy prices, to restore the cuts to healthcare that are kicking thousands of Granite Staters off of their health insurance and making it harder for people to access the care that they need."
On immigration enforcement, Pappas has emphasized the need for reforms, while other Democrats have called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be disbanded entirely.
"We have to be realistic — Donald Trump's going to be president for the next two years. We got to find every point of leverage we possibly can to rein in the disgusting abuses we have seen from ICE," Pappas said. "We have to make sure that we are going after the worst of the worst criminals that are violating the law, while also respecting due process rights and making sure that immigrants are part of our extended American family. And people in New Hampshire support that."