Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas won New Hampshire's open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu and becoming the first openly gay man ever elected to the Senate. He will replace Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, who is retiring after three terms.

The seat was one of a small group of races expected to decide which party controls the Senate next year. Republicans saw it as their best chance to gain ground in New England. Pappas instead held it with ease and was well ahead in the count when the race was called shortly after polls closed.

Sununu held the same seat for one term before Shaheen beat him in 2008. He called Pappas on Tuesday night to concede, a call Pappas described to supporters as very gracious.

A victory speech with a populist edge

Pappas took the stage in Manchester with his husband, Vann Bentley, at his side. He told the crowd the results were a wakeup call for billionaires and special interests he accused of rigging the economy and for members of Congress he blamed for health care cuts, tariffs and war. He said voters across the country had had enough and wanted a new direction.

He pledged to fight for reproductive freedom and drew some of the loudest cheers of the night when he promised to oppose new data centers and immigration detention sites in the state. He also said outside money from the president and allied donors had flooded the race but that his campaign won anyway.

From Manchester to Washington

Pappas, a Manchester native who once ran his family's well-known restaurant, was first elected to the House in 2018 and became the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from New Hampshire. In the House he backed the Equality Act and pushed for help for LGBTQ veterans. Democrat Stefany Shaheen, the retiring senator's daughter, won the House seat he gave up to run.

His win came alongside other key Democratic Senate results on the East Coast, including Roy Cooper flipping a Republican-held seat in North Carolina and Sen. Jon Ossoff winning reelection in Georgia.