As polls show their party’s support for the nation of Israel plummeting, New Hampshire Democratic Reps. Maggie Goodlander and Chris Pappas continue to accept significant support from the biggest pro-Israel PAC. Now their progressive opponents hope to make them pay a political price.
Pappas is running in the Democratic primary to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, while Goodlander is seeking a second term in the House. Both have remained largely silent about their support from pro-Israel groups ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has been among the top donors for both Pappas and Goodlander. The pro-Israel organization donated more than $60,000 to Goodlander during the 2024 election cycle and more than $300,000 to Pappas. AIPAC was the largest contributor to Pappas’ reelection campaign in the 2024 cycle.
Neither candidate responded to requests from NHJournal seeking clarification on whether they would continue to welcome financial support from AIPAC or other pro-Israel groups. AIPAC, on the other hand, was proud to tout its support of the two Granite State Democrats.
“Reps. Pappas and Goodlander are strong supporters of the U.S.-Israel alliance, which advances American interests,” an AIPAC spokesperson told NHJournal. “Our grassroots members will be deeply engaged in 2026 in helping to elect pro-Israel candidates and defeat detractors in New Hampshire and across the country.”
The politics of supporting the Jewish state have changed significantly in the past decade — and particularly in the wake of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza after the terror group killed more than 1,200 people on October 7. According to Gallup, “Republicans broadly sympathize with the Israelis (75 percent) over the Palestinians (10 percent), while Democrats sympathize with the Palestinians over the Israelis by a nearly 3-to-1 ratio (59 percent vs. 21 percent).”
The Democratic number has fallen drastically in the past three years, and many Democratic activists in New Hampshire support anti-Israel policies.
It is not surprising, perhaps, that Democratic primary challengers to both Goodlander and Pappas have pledged to reject funding from AIPAC or other pro-Israel groups and have referred to Israel’s military actions in Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks as a “genocide.”
Goodlander’s one announced opponent, state Rep. Paige Beauchemin of Nashua, who launched her campaign in October, has inaccurately described contributions from AIPAC members as “foreign money.” AIPAC receives 100 percent of its funding from American citizens.
Dr. Karishma Manzur, who is mounting a primary challenge to Pappas’ Senate campaign from the left, has pledged not to accept funding from corporate PACs or AIPAC. Manzur’s campaign has issued a statement from Jewish supporters who “stand with Karishma as she calls for an end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
They also quote Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s criticisms of the Jewish state, including her unfounded claim that Israel was “starving” the people of Gaza. Shaheen has previously voted to ban weapons sales to Israel and denounced President Donald Trump when he withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.
Neither Beauchemin nor Manzur responded to NHJournal’s requests for comment.
Protesters last week gathered outside the Puritan Backroom, a restaurant owned by the Pappas family, to criticize Pappas’ receipt of AIPAC funds and his past votes related to Israel. The Pappas campaign declined to comment on the protest.
Democrats nationally and in New Hampshire remain divided over support for Israel ahead of the 2026 election cycle. More than 40 percent of New Hampshire voters believe the United States is doing too much for Israel, according to polling earlier this year, and more than a quarter believe the U.S. should end all foreign aid to the Jewish state.
Israel is shaping up to be a major issue in the upcoming Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District as well. The frontrunner for the seat currently vacated by Pappas is Stefany Shaheen, whose position on Israel remains unclear.
At least two candidates in the race, state Rep. Heath Howard (D-Strafford) and Christian Urrutia, an Airbnb executive and former Pentagon attorney, have pledged to reject AIPAC funding.
