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Big cash rolling in for Dem contenders for 1st Congressional District seat

The competitive Democratic primary for the to-be-vacant 1st Congressional District seat in New Hampshire could be on its way to setting fundraising records in 2026. Maura Sullivan leads field in campaign cash for competitive 1st C.D Dem primary Maura Sullivan The three declared rivals have already raised nearly $1.5 million between them to try and succeed as Democratic nominee four-term U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who has declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat that Democrat Jeanne Shaheen will retire from next year. Maura Sullivan of Portsmouth, an Iraq War Marine veteran who was an Obama official in the Department of Veteran Affairs, has raised nearly $800,000. A 2018 candidate who finished second to Pappas in an 11-person field, Sullivan said 85% of her donors this time gave $100 or less and nearly 600 donors came from New Hampshire. 'We all know that House Republicans are already targeting this seat in 2026. When they pour millions of dollars into this race, we need a candidate who has the resources to combat their efforts,' Sullivan said in a statement Monday. 'I am proud of the number we raised and of the outpouring of support from grassroots donors. We are the campaign who can put together the resources and the broad coalition necessary to win in this tough district.' Sullivan seeks to be the first female Marine ever elected to Congress and former state Sen. Martha Clark, a two-time nominee for this seat, is in her corner. 'NH-01 is a clear target for Republicans and to keep this seat blue will require significant financial resources,' said Clark, who has for decades been one of the biggest individual donors to the Democratic Party. 'Maura has proven she is the candidate who can raise the resources to hold this critical seat. Maura also has a strong base of support from elected officials and activists across the district.' In 2018, Sullivan reached a joint fundraising agreement with the Serve America Victory Fund — a PAC that supports veteran candidates — to raise about $1.5 million in that race, twice what Pappas had received. The Democrat following close behind Sullivan financially in the race is Stefany Shaheen of Portsmouth, Sen. Shaheen's eldest daughter. The younger Shaheen got into the race later than Sullivan did and raised more than $525,000. Smaller donors Similarly, 82% of Shaheen's contributions were $100 or less and the campaign said it had more than 880 in-state residents who gave to her. 'In the month since Stefany Shaheen launched her campaign surrounded by hundreds of Granite Staters at a series of grassroots events, she raised more than half a million dollars. No one fights harder than a mom for her kids, and that's how she will fight for all New Hampshire families,' said campaign spokeswoman Emma Greenberg. Stefany Shaheen sets modern-day mark for first-time candidate Stefany Shaheen Shaheen's showing was a modern-day mark for a first-time candidate, exceeding what Sullivan had raised — $425,000 — by this time in 2017. In that same primary by this time, Pappas had raised $219,000. The third Democratic candidate, Carleigh Beriont, a Harvard University instructor and vice chair of the Hampton Select Board, raised more than $160,000 from nearly 1,000 individual donors. 'I've been deeply moved by the incredible grassroots support this campaign has received in just the first few weeks since announcing my run for Congress,' Beriont said in a statement. 'I am humbled by the trust that hundreds of people across New Hampshire and throughout our country have placed in me.' New Dem candidate for Congress raises $160k from nearly 1,000 donors Carleigh Beriont Lucas Harrington, a senior advisor to Barrington, said she's less known but qualified, unlike her rivals. 'As the only candidate in this race who has unseated a Republican incumbent or currently serves in elected office, we know that Carleigh is uniquely positioned to hold this seat,' Harrington said. Christian Urrutia, a Moultonborough lawyer and former Pentagon aide, also joined this Democratic primary field last week. Derry businessman Chris Bright and Bedford former CPA Melissa Bailey are the two, declared Republicans running in this district. Several other GOP figures are considering runs of their own next year, including 2024 primary runner-up Hollie Noveletsky of Greenland and Manchester Aldermanic President Joe Kelly Levasseur who finished third in that primary that former Executive Councilor Russ Prescott of Kingston won. klandrigan@