Summary
- Dan Innis and Karishma Manzur enter the NH Senate race.
- Two competitive primaries shaping GOP and Democratic
fields. - Innis is a GOP state senator and businessman.
- Manzur is a Democratic Party Rules Committee member.
- Both vie for an open seat after Jeanne Shaheen’s
retirement.
With the announcement of campaigns by
progressive activist Karishma Manzur and state senator Dan Innis, there are now
contestants in both the Democratic and Republican U.S. Senate primary in New
Hampshire.
Manzur, a biomedical scientist from Exeter, declared
her intention to run in the Democratic primary on Wednesday. Manzur was a
researcher who looked into epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. Her most
well-known political contributions are probably the opinion pieces she has
written for publications like the Bulletin, the Concord Monitor, and the New
Hampshire Union-Leader on issues like the Gaza War and the emergence of hate
groups in the United States. Although she has never held public office before,
she has volunteered for the state Democratic Party Rules Committee, Open
Democracy, and New Hampshire Peace Action.
Manzur has been an outspoken opponent of
Israel’s activities in the Gaza War and a strong supporter of Palestinian human
rights. Her campaign debut video, however, highlighted her own upbringing as an
immigrant in a working-class household as well as the hardships faced by
low-income Americans.
“In the richest country in the world, we have to
ask: Why are millions of Americans still struggling just to survive?”
she said
in her launch video.
U.S. Representative Chris Pappas, who entered the campaign as the first contender in April, will be Manzur’s
opponent in the Democratic primary. So far, she hasn’t attacked her opponent
directly in her campaign.
In July, Innis, a representative from central
New Hampshire’s District 7, entered the Republican primary. In 2014, he ran
unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in New Hampshire’s 1st
Congressional District and is currently a member of the national board of the
Log Cabin Republicans, a gay conservative organization. Innis is a business
professor and farmer outside of politics.
There are now two Republicans in the primary,
including Innis. In June, Scott Brown, who served as Massachusetts’s U.S.
Senate representative from 2010 to 2013 before relocating to New Hampshire,
declared his intention to run for office.
Innis has attempted to portray himself as a
staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and has criticized Brown, his
opponent, for not being conservative or pro-Trump enough.
He has, however, devoted a lot more effort to
disparaging Pappas by attempting to paint him as a “radical liberal” and
associating him with prominent Democrats throughout the country, like Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In order to
produce a map that is more favorable to Republicans, he has called for New
Hampshire to redistrict mid-decade like Texas and other states, and he has
spoken extensively about preventing transgender females from participating in
female sports.
“President Trump needs another fighter in the
U.S. Senate, and Chris Pappas will only be a fighter for the radical left,”
Innis wrote in a recent post.
“Pappas votes 94% with AOC and Nancy Pelosi,
backing policies that put our adversaries first and make New Hampshire weaker.”
Current U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen declared in
March that she would retire at the end of her term, leaving the Senate seat up
for grabs.
How might Innis affect Scott Brown’s chances in
the Republican primary?
Both Innis and Brown run on conservative
platforms supportive of President Trump’s agenda. Innis, with his grassroots appeal
as a state senator and business professor who emphasizes small government, tax
cuts, and immigration control, could split the GOP base, making the primary
less predictable.
Innis highlights his working-class background
and ties to rural communities, contrasting with Brown’s more established
statewide name recognition and prior Senate experience. This might attract
voters looking for a fresh candidate with local ties.
Brown has struggled to secure Donald Trump’s
explicit endorsement, partly due to his past criticism of Trump regarding the
January 6 Capitol attack. Innis has touted his long-standing support for Trump,
potentially winning him favor with pro-Trump Republicans.
