Christopher Charles Pappas ( ; born June 4, 1980) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician who has been the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

New Hampshire's 1st congressional district New Hampshire's 1st congressional district covers parts of Southern New Hampshire and the eastern portion of the state. The district contains parts of Hillsborough, Rockingham, Merrimack, Grafton, and Belknap counties; and the entirety of ...

since 2019. From 2013 to 2019, he represented the 4th district on the

New Hampshire Executive Council The Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire (commonly known as the Governor's Council) is the executive body of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Executive Council advises the Governor on all matters and provides a check on the governor ...

. The district includes

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, two

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

s in

Hillsborough Hillsborough may refer to: Australia *Hillsborough, New South Wales, a suburb of Lake Macquarie Canada *Hillsborough, New Brunswick *Hillsborough Parish, New Brunswick * Hillsborough, Nova Scotia, in Inverness County *Hillsborough (electoral d ...

, six towns in Merrimack, eight towns in Rockingham, and two towns in

Strafford County Strafford County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,889. Its county seat is Dover. Strafford County was one of the five original counties identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was n ...

. A member of the

New Hampshire Democratic Party The New Hampshire Democratic Party (NHDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Its chair is Raymond Buckley, and its vice chairs are Martha Fuller Clark and Bette Lasky. The most recent Democratic governor ...

, Pappas was a candidate for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in the 2018 election to succeed

Carol Shea-Porter Carol Shea-Porter (born December 2, 1952) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who is the former member of the United States House of Representatives for . She held the seat from 2007 to 2011, 2013 to 2015, and 2017 to 201 ...

. He was elected on November 6, 2018, and is the first openly gay man to represent New Hampshire in Congress.

Early life and education

Pappas was born in

, the son of Dawn and Arthur Pappas. His paternal great-grandfather, also named Arthur Pappas, arrived in New Hampshire as a new American citizen in the early 20th century, having recently emigrated from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. In 1917 Arthur Pappas and his cousin Louis Canota founded an ice cream shop in Manchester. By 1919 they had expanded the business into a restaurant, now known as the

Puritan Backroom The Puritan Backroom is a 2020 James Beard Foundation Award America's Classic restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire. They are known for their mudslides and chicken tenders, which they invented in 1974. History Arthur Pappas and Louis Canotas, G ...

, and in 1949 they added a function room. In 1974 Charlie Pappas, grandfather of Chris Pappas and co-owner of the Puritan at the time, invented the

chicken tender Chicken fingers (also known as chicken goujons, chicken strips, chicken tenders, chicken nuggets or chicken fillets) are chicken meat prepared from the pectoralis minor muscles of the animal. These strips of white meat are located on either side ...

. The business remains family-owned, and as of 2020 Chris Pappas was one of the owners. Pappas graduated from

Manchester Central High School Manchester High School Central is the oldest public high school in the state of New Hampshire. Located in the heart of Manchester, New Hampshire, approximately 1,200 students attend from communities such as Hooksett and Manchester, and it forme ...

in 1998. He then attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, where he wrote for ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

''. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in government in 2002.

Early political career

In 1996, while in high school, Pappas met then-State Senator

Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen ( ; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American retired educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Hampshire since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Shaheen served as the 78th ...

, who was running for governor at the time. He signed on as a volunteer for Shaheen's campaign, marking his first foray into politics. First elected in 2002, Pappas served two terms in the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

. In 2006, Pappas was elected to the first of two terms as treasurer of Hillsborough County."Gay N.H. Executive Council candidate stumps in D.C."
''

Washington Blade The ''Washington Blade'' is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The ''Blade'' is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the ''Philadelphi ...

'', June 19, 2012. In 2010 he lost reelection to Robert Burns. In 2012, Pappas was elected to the

, defeating Burns. He was reelected in 2014 and 2016. In 2016, Pappas voted to extend substance abuse treatment to 140,000 New Hampshire residents. He also supported increased funding for substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

For years, Pappas was floated as a potential candidate for the

, for

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

, or for

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

. After U.S. Representative

announced that she would not seek reelection in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Pappas announced his candidacy for her seat, representing

. In the September 12 Democratic primary, Pappas defeated ten other candidates, including former

Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs The Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, or ATSD (PA), is the principal staff advisor and assistant to the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense for public information, internal information, community relations ...

Maura Sullivan Maura Sullivan is an American politician, veteran and former government official. Sullivan previously served as an official in the Obama Administration from 2014 to 2016 in both the Veterans Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense. She a ...

and

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

's son Levi Sanders, with 42.2% of the vote. Pappas defeated Republican Eddie Edwards, a former member of the New Hampshire State Division of Liquor Enforcement and former police chief, in the general election, with 53.6% of the vote. He won every county except

Belknap County Belknap County () is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,705. The county seat is Laconia. It is located in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, slightly southeast of the state's geographic center. ...

2020

Pappas ran for reelection to a second term and was unopposed in the Democratic primary. He defeated Republican Matt Mowers, the former Executive Director of the

New Hampshire Republican Party The New Hampshire Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New Hampshire. Its executive committee is headed by Chairman Stephen Stepanek. Current elected officials The New Hampshire Republican Party ho ...

and a former

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

staffer, in the general election, receiving 51.32% of the vote.

2022

Pappas was reelected in 2022, defeating Karoline Leavitt with 54% of the vote.

Committee assignments

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

** Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit ** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment * Committee on Veterans' Affairs ** Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chair) * Committee on Small Business

Caucus memberships

Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus The Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus was formed by openly gay representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank June 4, 2008, to advance LGBT+ rights. The caucus had 165 members (164 Democrats and one Republican, Jeff Van Drew) in the 116th ...

(Co-Chair) *

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (formerly known as the Congressional Human Rights Caucus) is a bipartisan caucus of the United States House of Representatives. Its stated mission is "to promote, defend and advocate internationally recognize ...

* House Pro-Choice Caucus

Political positions

Pappas voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the

117th Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

, according to a ''

FiveThirtyEight ''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...

'' analysis. Pappas was one of six House Democrats to vote against the

Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, also known as the MORE Act, is a proposed piece of U.S. federal legislation that would deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and enact various criminal and social jus ...

to legalize cannabis at the federal level in 2020. Pappas said he supports removing cannabis from the

Controlled Substances Act The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal government of the United States, federal drug policy of the United States, U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of ...

but that he had concerns with other provisions of the bill and felt that it was being rushed through. In August 2022, Pappas criticized President Biden's plan to cancel $10,000 in federal student debt for those making less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, calling it "no way to make policy", and saying it did little to address the root cause of increasing costs of higher education. On February 1, 2023, Pappas was among twelve Democrats to vote for a resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency.

Syria

In 2023, Pappas voted against H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

within 180 days.

Electoral history

Personal life

Pappas co-owns the Puritan Backroom restaurant in Manchester. The Puritan Backroom is well-known in New Hampshire as a frequent stop for presidential candidates during the

New Hampshire primary The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest (the first being the Iowa caucuses) held in the United States every four years as part of the process of choosi ...

. Pappas is an

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

and is affiliated with the

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. Archbishop On May 11, 2019, the church's Hol ...

. Pappas became engaged to Vann Bentley in 2021. They got married in February 2023.

References

External links

Congressman Chris Pappas
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pappas, Chris 1980 births Living people American people of Greek descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire American gay politicians Harvard College alumni LGBT members of the United States Congress LGBT state legislators in New Hampshire Manchester Central High School alumni Members of the Executive Council of New Hampshire Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Politicians from Manchester, New Hampshire 21st-century American LGBT people LGBT people from New Hampshire Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States LGBT Eastern Orthodox Christians