U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas defeated former Senator John E. Sununu in New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race, delivering a major victory for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), which had mobilized voters and drawn attention to the Sununu family’s financial interests in Azerbaijan.
The closely watched contest became a focal point for Armenian American political activism as the ANCA worked to highlight the Sununu family’s connections to mining ventures associated with territories Azerbaijan seized following its September 2023 military offensive against Artsakh, which forced more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians from their ancestral homeland.
The ANCA’s campaign combined grassroots organizing, voter outreach, and media engagement in an effort to make those financial relationships an issue in the Senate race. Armenian American volunteers participated in door-to-door canvassing, telephone outreach, and direct conversations with New Hampshire voters, seeking to build support for Pappas while raising questions about the Sununu family’s business interests.
The organization also took its case to the state’s political media, including through an opinion article published in NH Journal examining the relationship between the Sununu family’s mining interests and Azerbaijan’s takeover of Artsakh. The article formed part of a broader effort to bring the issue before voters beyond the Armenian American community.
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian characterized the result as a warning to American political figures whose financial interests intersect with Azerbaijan.
“We dragged Baku’s corruption out from the shadows straight into television campaign ads, turning their dirty money into a political liability,” Hamparian said. “They thought they could keep cashing in for free. Tonight, the ANCA sent them the bill.”
Hamparian also argued that the political consequences of such relationships were becoming increasingly apparent.
“The Azerbaijani petrodollars that once bought their votes are now costing them votes,” he said. “That’s a service to our community – and to our country.”
The ANCA’s National Grassroots Director, Gev Iskajyan, emphasized the importance of sustained local engagement in bringing the issue to voters’ attention.
“From knocking on doors to making calls and reaching voters through the press, Armenian Americans showed that grassroots advocacy can make a difference,” Iskajyan said. “We brought the facts about Sununu’s Azerbaijan ties directly to New Hampshire voters and made sure their voices were heard.”
Pappas’s victory adds to the ANCA’s efforts to make Armenian American concerns part of congressional election debates, particularly regarding U.S. policy toward Azerbaijan and the economic interests connected to its actions in Artsakh.
For the organization, the New Hampshire contest demonstrated how local volunteer mobilization and sustained public scrutiny can bring foreign financial relationships into the center of a domestic political campaign. The election also provided a high-profile example of Armenian American advocacy extending beyond traditional policy debates in Washington and into competitive statewide elections.
