Republican candidate Anthony DiLorenzo has entered the race in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District with a commanding fundraising lead, outpacing all Democratic contenders in his first quarter and signaling growing Republican momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms.
In his first quarter since entering the race, DiLorenzo pulled in $833,000, outpacing every Democratic contender by a wide margin. Maura Sullivan, the top Democratic fundraiser, raised $518,000, followed by Stefany Shaheen with $405,000, Christian Urrutia with $175,000, Carleigh Beriont with $55,000, Sarah Chadzynski with under $10,000, and Heath Howard with just $5,300.
New Hampshire’s First District has moved nearly four points toward the GOP between 2020 and 2024, reinforcing the district’s competitiveness and heightening expectations for a Republican flip in November.
DiLorenzo’s rise is rooted not only in political timing but in a biography that underscores economic grit and entrepreneurial success. Originally from a working-class family in Ohio, DiLorenzo began working at the age of eight, delivering newspapers for tips. As a teenager, he worked in restaurants to support himself before moving to New Hampshire for college in 1983. By 1989, with just $7,000 in cash and $5,000 in credit, he launched his first business. Within six years, he founded the Key Auto Center of Somersworth, and in 1997 acquired Portsmouth Chevrolet.
Today, he oversees a statewide enterprise of over 20 car dealerships and 11 collision centers employing thousands of Granite Staters. He’s since expanded into real estate and health and wellness industries, helping build up local communities and creating economic opportunities across the region.
DiLorenzo’s campaign is built around a detailed platform titled “Plan to Protect the American Dream” with proposals aimed at economic affordability, fiscal responsibility, border security, support for law enforcement, and preserving constitutional rights. His policy positions include backing a Balanced Budget Amendment, protecting the 2017 tax cuts, opposing federal abortion laws while respecting state autonomy, ensuring U.S. energy independence, and safeguarding the Second Amendment. He also advocates for vocational education, common sense immigration reform, and strengthening the military to meet future global threats.
The Democratic field, meanwhile, faces challenges beyond fundraising shortfalls. In October, Stefany Shaheen refused to condemn political violence when asked directly on camera, instead walking away without answering while the questioner pressed her repeatedly. The exchange occurred less than a month after the public assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and a separate shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas, where a bullet casing was marked “Anti-ICE.” Shaheen’s silence in the face of those questions — such as whether she believed it was wrong to murder someone for their political views — prompted sharp rebuke from the National Republican Congressional Committee, which called her response “flat-out dangerous” and said she was “unfit to serve Granite Staters in Congress.”
Maura Sullivan, a former Marine, previously called for new restrictions on AR-15s in a campaign video where she held the firearm and described it as similar to the one she trained on in the military. The video drew sharp criticism from pro-Second Amendment advocates, including retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jessie Jane Duff, who mocked Sullivan’s “dainty” handling of the rifle and accused her of abandoning her oath to uphold the Constitution once out of uniform. NRATV’s John Popp also remarked that it looked as if Sullivan had “never touched one before.”
Heath Howard has openly stated that he would not support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “I don’t believe that I would,” he said, adding that the party needs “a new type of leadership” that more effectively communicates its message and pushes back harder against the Trump administration. His remarks came as a recent Axios survey showed nearly half of Democrat House hopefuls declined to commit to supporting Jeffries, highlighting broader uncertainty within the party about its direction.
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