Scoop: Chris Pappas is running for Senate in New Hampshire

• Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H), a former Biden official and now a first-term lawmaker, is also considering a run, Axios has reported.
• Republicans are hopeful that former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu will ultimately decide to mount a Senate bid, but he hasn't given a strong indication that he's dying to jump into the race.
• Announcing at the beginning of the second quarter will give Pappas nearly three months to raise cash before he has to file with the FEC. He ended last year with $400,000 cash on hand, according to his filings.

The intrigue: If Pappas ultimately decides not to run, former Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), has indicated she would reenter politics.

• There has been some friction between Kuster and Goodlander, who defeated Kuster's preferred candidate in the Democratic primary to succeed her in a brutal primary last fall.
• But Kuster and Pappas had a good relationship when they served as the state's two House members, and she would be unlikely to challenge him for the open Senate seat.

The big picture: Senate Democratic retirements this year are making the 2026 map more favorable for Republicans, as the GOP is now looking at open seats in Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

• With many House Democrats making moves to jump to the Senate, the National Republican Congressional Committee is preparing to go on offense in the purple districts they would be vacating.