It may not take place until November 2026, but a Congressional race in New Hampshire is already heating up the political climate in the Granite State.

After U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen announced she would not be seeking reelection, U.S. Representative Chris Pappas declared his run to replace Shaheen. This, in turn, would leave his existing seat representing the First Congressional District wide open. And even though the race isn’t until November 2026, candidates are already lining up to replace Pappas.

Arnie Arnesen, host of WNHN’s “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” in New Hampshire, said some of these candidates have run in the past, like Marine Corps veteran Maura Sullivan, and some have big name recognition, like Stephany Shaheen, daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. But there are also candidates who are trying to package themselves as “outsiders.”

“[Voters] really are looking to turn the page. They’re looking for new voices. They want younger people,” Arnesen said. “So then the question becomes, if you’ve run in the past, is that an asset or a liability? If you have a name like Shaheen, is that asset or liability?”

Meanwhile, offshore wind farms off the coast of Cape Cod and Rhode Island are stalled once again, due to President Donald Trump’s executive order against offshore wind on his first day in office and his administration’s continuing pushback against the renewable-energy source.

Jenette Barnes, reporter and producer at CAI on Cape Cod, said Massachusetts and Rhode Island, along with their respective electric companies, have already worked out contracts and bids for offshore wind farms. But because these plans require federal approval, the construction of these farms is up in the air, given the political climate.

“The climate for wind farms has led to so much uncertainty that some are unable to move forward altogether and others are just unable to commit to that contract right now,” Barnes said.

The stalling of wind farm construction also directly affects coastal areas that banked on the industry as an economic stimulant.

“New Bedford has developed a whole pipeline of supply-chain businesses that are ready to be part of the offshore wind industry,” Barnes said. “And every single piece of that is affected when this happens.”

And in Rhode Island, the saga over the renovation of the Washington Bridge continues. After it was abruptly closed in 2023, engineers found that the bridge had major issues that could not be fixed; instead, the bridge needed to be torn down and reconstructed.

Two years later, plans are finally taking shape to rebuild the Washington Bridge, but it comes with a longer timeline and a heftier price tag, said Ted Nesi, politics editor and investigative reporter at WPRI in Rhode Island.

“It’s going to take two years longer than expected – so it’s supposed to open in November 2028 – and it’s gonna cost $427 million, which is way up from the very early estimate of as little as $250 [million],” Nesi said.

But Nesi said Rhode Islanders aren’t buying the recently released plans.

“[Salve Regina] had a poll out just this week that showed 84 percent of Rhode Island voters say even that timeline and budget is unlikely to be achieved,” Nesi said. “You can’t get 84 percent of people to agree on anything in 2025, right? And it just shows the complete lack of confidence at this point in the state government on this bridge issue.”

All that and more in this week’s regional news roundtable!

Guests

  • Arnie Arnesen, host of WNHN’s “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” in New Hampshire
  • Ted Nesi, politics editor and investigative reporter at WPRI in Rhode Island
  • Jennette Barnes, reporter and producer at CAI on Cape Cod.

Stories featured in this week’s regional news roundtable