Maura Sullivan, a Marine Corps veteran and former Obama administration official, launched a campaign Thursday for New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, a competitive swing seat that will be open next year as incumbent Democratic Representative Chris Pappas runs for the US Senate.
Sullivan, 45, previously ran for the seat in 2018, finishing second to Pappas in a crowded Democratic primary. She now serves as vice chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
“I’m stepping up to serve because the issues we’re facing aren’t Democratic or Republican — they’re American issues,” Sullivan said in a campaign video. “This district needs a member of Congress focused on lowering costs, driving innovation in our economy, and restoring a sense of stability.”
The First District, which includes Manchester, Portsmouth, and the Lakes Region, is one of New England’s few true battlegrounds, regularly flipping between parties over the past two decades. Democrat Kamala Harris won the district by only two percentage points over Donald Trump last November.
Sullivan is the first candidate from either party to announce they are running for the seat.
Sullivan, who served in the Iraq War as a Marine captain, later worked in the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon under President Obama. A native of Illinois and graduate of Harvard Kennedy School, she moved to New Hampshire shortly before launching her first campaign, prompting criticism at the time that she was a political newcomer with limited local ties.
In that 2018 race, she broke state fundraising records and won backing from national groups including EMILY’s List and VoteVets, but ultimately lost to Pappas, a Manchester native and former executive councilor with deep roots in the district.
Sullivan has stayed active in state politics since then, and was an early New Hampshire supporter of Pete Buttigieg during the 2020 presidential primary.
She lives in New Castle with her husband and their young children.
James Pindell is a Globe political reporter who reports and analyzes American politics, especially in New England.