When it comes to whether he’ll launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas says he’ll take his cues from the people of New Hampshire.

Pappas, in a phone conversation with the Monitor on Wednesday, said that’s why he kicked off what he calls a “Grounded in Granite” tour through all 10 of New Hampshire’s counties.

The four-term federal lawmaker who represents New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District was interviewed as he drove to Sullivan County after his first stop on the tour, which was in Keene.

Pappas, a former state representative and executive councilor who hails from a Manchester family that has owned and operated the iconic Puritan Backroom restaurant for over a century, appears to be ramping up towards launching a campaign in the 2026 race to succeed retiring longtime U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

The 78-year-old Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history elected as a governor and to the Senate, announced last week that she wouldn’t seek re-election next year to a fourth six-year term representing New Hampshire.

Pappas praised Shaheen as someone who has “been an inspiration for me during my time in public service.”

While political pundits expect Pappas to launch a Senate campaign in the coming weeks, the congressman said “meeting people in all 10 counties over the next few days is going to be an instructive way to figure out how I can best serve.”

“We’re getting out there and having lots of conversations with folks in all corners of the Granite State about what the path forward should look like, and I really trust and value the feedback of this state,” Pappas added. “After all, I’ve lived here my entire life. I have a family small business here. I’m grounded in the people, places and values of New Hampshire, and I want to do what’s right for our great state and our future.”

Pappas did not hide that a Senate campaign was on his mind. He shared that he’s “been approached by folks that very enthusiastically want me to run for Senate, and what I want to do is be proactive and get out there and meet people where they are to see what’s on their minds and to see if running for Senate makes sense.”

Besides Pappas, Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander, who won election to Congress last November and succeeded longtime Rep. Annie Kuster in the state’s 2nd District, is also considering a Senate run, according to sources.

“I really appreciate the work that she is doing, and we’re going to stay in close contact in the coming days and weeks,” Pappas said of Goodlander.

“My decision-making is going to be based on what’s right for the people in the state,” he added.

Pappas and Goodlander last week joined all but one of the House Democrats in voting against a Republican-crafted federal government funding bill that averted a government shutdown. But Shaheen and New Hampshire’s other senator, Sen. Maggie Hassan, were among the handful of Democrats who joined Republicans in the chamber to pass the measure. Passage of the bill has infuriated Democrats on the left as well as those in the mainstream of the party.

Rather than say if he was disappointed with Shaheen and Hassan, Pappas pivoted and targeted the GOP.

“I’m disappointed that Republicans walked away from the table,” Pappas said. “Traditionally, Republicans and Democrats have come together and negotiated full-year deals, and that’s exactly what we needed to see happen in that situation. That’s why I would have supported a short-term resolution that brought people back to the table.”

Longtime Senate Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who last week voted with Republicans in favor of the continuing resolution, is facing plenty of incoming fire from his own party, with some calls for him to step down from his leadership position.

Pappas wouldn’t weigh in on Schumer.

“I’m in the House, and so I’m privy to the conversations that we have in the House on, you know, our votes and our strategy,” he said. “And I’ll say I have great confidence in our House Democratic leadership.”

“Look, as Democrats, I think we have to be looking at all the points of leverage we have to defend what’s important to our constituents and to try to make a difference for people,” Pappas added.

Former Gov. Chris Sununu says he’s holding a dialogue with national Republican leaders about potentially running in the race to succeed Shaheen.

Sununu, who enjoys a large national profile thanks to his regular appearances on cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, said in an interview that he aims to make a decision regarding a 2026 campaign in the “next few weeks.”

The former governor, who for a couple of years was a vocal Republican critic of President Donald Trump, said, “I have no doubt I’d have the president’s support,” if he decides to make a bid for the Senate.

And Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to four straight two-year terms as governor, touted that “I have no doubt I can win.”

Sununu said repeatedly last year that he had no interest in a 2026 Senate run. But in comments in recent days, he’s changed the narrative.

In his interview on Tuesday in his hometown of Newfields, Sununu shared that “some folks in New Hampshire, some folks in Washington, have asked me to really take a few weeks and think about it at this point.”

“The door’s open,” he said, before adding, “It’s not open a lot, to be honest.

Among those he’s talking with is Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who’s the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.

“Tim is a great friend. We’ve talked a lot, not just about me running, but other opportunities.”

He described his talks as “an ongoing discussion.”

Even before Shaheen’s blockbuster news, her seat was considered one of the GOP’s top pickup opportunities in the 2026 midterms – along with Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters is also retiring, and Georgia, where Republicans consider first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff vulnerable – as Republicans hope to expand their current 53-47 majority.

Sununu isn’t the only Republican mulling a Senate bid in New Hampshire.

Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who narrowly lost to Shaheen in New Hampshire in the 2014 election, is seriously considering a 2026 run.

Brown, who served four years as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during President Donald Trump’s first administration, has been holding meetings with Republicans across New Hampshire for a couple of months and has met multiple times with GOP officials in the nation’s capital.

Sununu sees an opportunity - with Shaheen not seeking re-election - for the Republicans to flip the seat.

“It’s an open seat. It’s up for play. Republicans have been successful in some statewide races here recently,” he said.

Sununu added that “there is an opportunity” for himself, for Scott Brown, or for another Republican candidate, to “win the seat.”