New Hampshire’s two U.S. senators are Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both Democrats and both former governors of the state. Shaheen, the senior senator, has served since 2009 and announced in 2024 that she will not seek reelection when her term ends in January 2027.1U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen. After 30 Years Making A Difference, Jeanne Shaheen Announces She Will Not Seek Reelection in 2026 Hassan, the junior senator, has served since 2017 and is not on the ballot until 2028.
Jeanne Shaheen, Senior Senator
Shaheen took office in January 2009 after a career that included service as governor of New Hampshire and earlier work as a teacher and small business owner. Her seat sits in Class II, which means her current term runs through January 2027.2United States Senate. Class II – Senators Whose Terms of Service Expire in 2027 In a statement posted to her official website, she said she would not run for a fourth term, closing out roughly three decades in New Hampshire public office.
Maggie Hassan, Junior Senator
Hassan has represented New Hampshire in the Senate since January 2017. Before that she served as governor and held a seat in the state legislature. Her earlier career was as an attorney and a disability rights advocate. Her seat is in Class III, so her current term runs through January 2029 and her next election is in 2028.3United States Senate. Class III – Senators Whose Terms of Service Expire in 2029
The 2026 Race for Shaheen’s Seat
Shaheen’s retirement has opened a competitive contest for the Class II seat. New Hampshire’s primary is scheduled for September 8, 2026, followed by the general election in November. On the Democratic side, U.S. Representative Chris Pappas is running, along with medical scientist Karishma Manzur and state representative Jared Sullivan. Republican candidates include former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown and former New Hampshire senator John E. Sununu. Whoever wins takes office in January 2027.
What New Hampshire’s Senators Do
The core work is legislation. Senators introduce bills, debate them, and vote on them, and each senator sits on a handful of committees where the substantive work happens well before anything reaches the floor. Committee assignments in areas like finance, armed services, judiciary, and appropriations often determine how much say a senator has over particular policy areas.
Beyond lawmaking, the Senate holds several powers the House does not. Federal judges, Supreme Court justices, ambassadors, and cabinet officials cannot take office without Senate confirmation, and international treaties require a two-thirds Senate vote to take effect.4Constitution Annotated. Overview of Appointments Clause The Senate also conducts impeachment trials for federal officials, with conviction requiring a two-thirds vote of members present; when a president is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides.5Constitution Annotated. Overview of Impeachment Trials That gives each New Hampshire senator a direct vote on whether a president or federal judge is removed from office.
Getting Help from a Senator’s Office
Both senators keep offices in Washington and at locations across New Hampshire, and much of what those offices handle is casework: helping residents cut through problems with federal agencies. The most common requests involve the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the IRS, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.6Administrative Conference of the United States. Agency Management of Congressional Constituent Service Inquiries If a federal case is stuck, a call to a senator’s office is often the fastest way to get it looked at.
Senators also nominate applicants to the U.S. military service academies, including West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy. Applicants are generally U.S. citizens between 17 and 22 who meet medical and academic standards and submit transcripts, test scores, essays, and letters of recommendation. Each office sets its own timeline, so families should contact the office well before senior year of high school.
Residents can reach either senator’s office by phone, mail, or a secure web form on the official Senate website, and each office has staff dedicated to constituent service requests.7U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen. What is Casework
How a Senate Vacancy Would Be Filled
Shaheen’s seat will change hands through the 2026 election, not a vacancy. But if a New Hampshire Senate seat became vacant early because of death, resignation, or expulsion, the Seventeenth Amendment lets the state fill it in the meantime. The governor appoints a temporary replacement who serves until the next regularly scheduled general election, at which point voters choose someone to serve the remainder of the term.8U.S. Senate. Appointed Senators
New Hampshire is one of the thirty-four states using that model, and it does not require the governor to pick someone from the same party as the outgoing senator.9Congress.gov. U.S. Senate Vacancies – How Are They Filled So the sitting governor’s political affiliation matters whenever a vacancy opens.
Why New Hampshire Has Two Senators
New Hampshire is among the smaller states by population, but it holds the same two Senate seats as California or Texas. That is deliberate. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, smaller states refused to join a national government whose representation depended entirely on population. The Great Compromise adopted on July 16, 1787, gave every state two senators regardless of size, while the House of Representatives was apportioned by population.10U.S. Senate. About the Senate and the Constitution Senators serve six-year terms, and the Senate is divided into three classes so about one-third of seats are up every two years.11United States Senate. U.S. Senate – About the Senate and the U.S. Constitution – Term Length Because New Hampshire’s two seats sit in different classes, both never appear on the ballot in the same year.
Who Can Serve
Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution sets three requirements to serve in the Senate. A person must be at least 30 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and live in the state they represent at the time of the election.12Constitution Annotated. U.S. Constitution Article I Section 3 – Senate These are the only qualifications, and no state can add to them.