ANCA Endorses Rep. Chris Pappas for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire

-- Granite State Race Pits Proven Pro-Armenian Champion Against Sununu Family, Whose Anglo Asian Mining Holdings Profit from Azerbaijan's Occupation of Artsakh

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today endorsed Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) for the United States Senate, citing his sustained leadership on Armenian American legislative priorities, his principled stand against U.S. arms transfers to Turkey and Azerbaijan, and the stark contrast he offers to a likely Republican opponent whose family holds a multi-million dollar stake in a mining company profiting from Azerbaijan’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.

Rep. Pappas — the favorite to win the Democratic nomination — is expected to face former U.S. Senator John E. Sununu, the leading contender for the Republican nomination in the race to succeed retiring Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

“Chris Pappas has shown up — year after year, vote after vote, letter after letter — for justice for the Armenian people,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “He has stood with displaced Artsakh Armenians, with the families of hostages held in Baku, and with every Armenian American family asking their government to stop arming the regimes that target Armenians. That is the kind of leadership Armenian Americans want representing them in the United States Senate.”

A Substantive Pro-Armenian Record

A member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, Rep. Pappas has compiled one of the most consistent pro-Armenian records in the U.S. House, earning a sustained “A” grade on the ANCA Congressional Report Card across multiple Congresses. He is a perennial co-signer of the Armenian Caucus’s annual foreign aid appropriations letters – supported by the ANCA – calling for robust U.S. humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Artsakh refugees, expanded U.S.-Armenia security cooperation, and the strict enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act restrictions on military aid to Azerbaijan.

Rep. Pappas signed the June 2025 Armenian Caucus letter affirming the right of return for Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh, and the FY2026 foreign operations appropriations letter advancing the full slate of ANCA-backed priorities. Across multiple Congresses, he has cosponsored the Artsakh Blockade Resolution (H.Res.108), the Armenian Genocide Education Act, and a range of measures supporting Section 907 enforcement, Global Magnitsky sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for war crimes, and continued U.S. recognition of and education about the Armenian Genocide.

Leading the Fight Against U.S. Arms Sales to Turkey

As Co-Chair of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, Rep. Pappas has emerged as one of Capitol Hill’s most forceful voices against U.S. fighter jet sales to Turkey, a fight the ANCA has supported at every turn. In September 2025, he led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth opposing the Trump Administration’s discussions with President Erdogan over the sale of F-16 and F-35 aircraft to Turkey, despite Ankara’s continued possession of Russian S-400 missile systems in violation of U.S. law.

“Congress has consistently upheld bipartisan restrictions on Turkey’s access to the F-35,” Pappas and his colleagues wrote. “Any move to reverse this policy without first securing the statutorily required certification would be a clear violation of U.S. law, undermine Congressional authority, and signal to others that U.S. law and strategic principles can be disregarded.”

In prior Congresses, Pappas secured passage of a bipartisan amendment to the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act prohibiting the sale of F-16s to Turkey, an effort the ANCA actively championed.

A New Hampshire Voice for the Armenian American Community

Rep. Pappas’ Congressional office has engaged directly with New Hampshire’s Armenian American community throughout his tenure, listening to constituent concerns and translating them into legislative action.

“Chris Pappas has been there for our community when it counted,” said Alla Gevorgyan, ANCA activist from New Hampshire. “He took the time to understand the issues facing our community, ensured our concerns were heard, and — most importantly — translated engagement into meaningful action.” Granite State Armenian Americans know we have a real friend in Chris Pappas, and we are proud to stand with him in this race.”

A Stark Contrast: The Sununu Family’s Anglo Asian Mining Holdings

The race also presents Granite State voters with a sharp choice on questions of corruption, accountability, and complicity in the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. Former Senator John E. Sununu, the leading Republican contender, is the son of John H. Sununu, who holds an estimated 9 to 10 percent stake (valued at roughly $16 million) in Anglo Asian Mining, a company operating gold, copper, and silver mines in Azerbaijan. His brother, Michael Sununu, serves as a Non-Executive Director of the same company.

Anglo Asian Mining publicly welcomed Azerbaijan’s 2020 military assault on Artsakh as opening new commercial opportunities, and moved aggressively to operationalize mining sites in territories from which Armenians had been displaced. The company’s claims to mining rights in Artsakh – including the Kashen mine in occupied Martakert – were among the pretexts cited by Azerbaijan for its 2022-2023 blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the nine-month siege that preceded Azerbaijan’s September 2023 genocidal ethnic cleansing of more than 120,000 indigenous Armenians from their homeland. Anglo Asian began copper production at Kashen in 2025.

“Armenian Americans – and every American who cares about human rights – deserve to know whether their next Senator’s family is profiting from the ethnic cleansing of an indigenous Christian people,” Hamparian added. “The Sununu family has direct financial and governance ties to a company cashing in on Azerbaijan’s genocide and occupation of indigenous Armenian lands. That is a question John E. Sununu will need to answer to New Hampshire voters.”

Armenian Americans and all New Hampshire voters can learn more about Rep. Chris Pappas’s record by reviewing his ANCA Report Card and visiting Congressional and campaign websites.

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