HAMPTON, NH – The Associated Press predicts Karoline Leavitt will win the Republican primary in New Hampshire’s first congressional district, which has long been a hotly contested House district. Leavitt will now face off in the November midterm elections with two-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, whom Republicans see as vulnerable amid a political climate that has favored the GOP over the past year. Republicans need a net gain of just five seats in the 435-member House in November to take back the House majority they lost in the 2018 election and are eyeing New Hampshire’s First District, which stretches from the Massachusetts border to Manchester . and the coastal area, up to the area of the Lakes and the White Mountains. “The America First grassroots campaign prevailed at home. We won tonight,” Leavitt said to cheers from supporters as she delivered a key victory speech in the seaside town of Hampton, New Hampshire. The 25-year-old Leavitt — a New Hampshire native who worked in Trump’s White House press shop and later for GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who is now the number three ranking Republican in the House — will become the youngest woman elected never Congress if he wins in November. 2022 PRIMARY SEASON ENDS WITH FIERY REPUBLICAN FACES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE BATTLEGROUND Republican congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt of New Hampshire delivers a primary victory speech on September 13, 2022 in Hampton, NH (Fox News ) Leavitt edged out Matt Mowers, a former executive director of the New Hampshire GOP who worked on former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and served at the State Department during the Trump administration, who is making his second consecutive run for Congress . “Unfortunately, tonight’s results did not go our way, but I will never stop fighting for these middle-class families to make sure they are not forgotten,” Mowers said in a concession statement. Mowers easily won the 2020 congressional nomination in the district before losing to Pappas by five points in the general election. THESE 11 SENATE WILL DECIDE THE MAJORITY OF THE CHAMBER The increasingly combustible battle between Leavitt and Mowers has become one to the right, with both showing off their experience of the Trump administration. However, Mowers did not go as far as Leavitt when it comes to Trump losing the 2020 election to President Biden. Leavitt stands by the former president’s unproven claims that the last election was “rigged” with “massive voter fraud” and “stolen.” Mowers, in more down-to-earth language, said he remains concerned about “voting irregularities across the country.” Republican U.S. House candidate Matt Mowers, who is running for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, speaks with state Sen. Regina Birdsell at the English Muffin restaurant in Hampstead, NH on September 12, 2022 (Fox News) Trump, who endorsed Mowers two years ago, remained neutral in this year’s contest. Leavitt was endorsed by Stefanik, as well as other prominent GOP figures who are allies of Trump — including Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. He also enjoyed the support of conservative nuclear Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who traveled to New Hampshire last week to campaign with Leavitt. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas headlines a rally for GOP congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt on September 8, 2022 in Londonderry, New Hampshire. (Fox News) Mowers — who in June was endorsed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who are the top two Republicans in the chamber — was backed by a seven-figure ad buy from the Congressional Leadership Fund, a powerful super PAC aligned with House GOP leaders. Additionally, another non-Republican group, the more moderate Defending Main Street Super PAC, spent more than $1 million to blast Leavitt on the airwaves. Asked about the big money flooding into the area, Mowers told Fox News “it tells me that people know we’re the one who’s going to win this fight and beat Chris Pappas.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP But Leavitt stressed that “the people are with me” and charged that “the establishment in Washington is spoiling me with $5 million in negative attack ads.” After her victory speech, Leavitt in an interview on Fox News called for party unity, saying that “kicking him [Pappas] The out is the key to get back the Body and get rid of [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi once and for all and we must be united in this effort.” The crowded GOP primary field also included Gail Huff Brown, a former longtime television reporter and wife of former Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during the Trump administration. Huff Brown was in third place according to the latest unofficial results, followed by former senator and executive adviser Russell Prescott. and state Rep. Tim Baxter — by single digits. Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
