Aiming to give Trump ‘backup,’ second Republican enters swing state race for Democrat-held Senate seat

EXCLUSIVE — New Hampshire state Sen. Dan Innis pledges that if he wins election to the U.S. Senate and makes it to Washington D.C., “I’ll call bull when I see it.” 

Innis, a three-term Republican state senator, made his pledge on Wednesday as he launched his Senate campaign in the key New England swing state in the 2026 race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

It’s expected to be a competitive and expensive race for a seat the GOP is working to flip from blue to red. New Hampshire, along with Georgia and Michigan, are the three top targets for Senate Republicans as they aim to expand their 53-47 majority in the chamber.

“I built businesses, raised cattle, balanced budgets. I believe in borders, law and order, and putting Americans first. I’ve worked to lower your taxes and to stop illegal immigration,” Innis, a small business owner, said in a campaign launch video.

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Pointing to President Donald Trump, he said that “Trump needs backup in the Senate.”

In his first national interview after announcing his candidacy, Innis told Fox News Digital that “we need New Hampshire values in Washington, D.C., and I don’t think we have them right now.”

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While Republicans enjoy total control of New Hampshire’s state government, the Granite State for nearly a decade has had an all-Democrat congressional delegation. 

Innis argued that the state’s congressional delegation “isn’t carrying the message that we’re hearing on the ground in New Hampshire and that is keep government out of my life, keep taxes low, secure the border and help grow the economy.”

He also took aim at four-term Rep. Chris Pappas, who, at this early point in the cycle, has no opposition in the race for the Democratic Senate nomination.

“I don’t think Rep. Pappas has represented us well at all,” Innis charged. “We need someone new down there who’s going to take New Hampshire to Washington and show them how to get things done.”

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Innis becomes the second Republican to jump into the Senate race in New Hampshire.

Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who served as ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term in the White House, announced his candidacy last month. Ahead of his campaign launch, Brown had been crisscrossing New Hampshire since late last year, meeting with Republican and conservative groups.

When asked how he will compete with Brown, who is much more well-known in New Hampshire, Innis told Fox News “everyone has an impression of him [Brown]. Not everyone knows me yet, so I have an opportunity to show people who I am …to help them to see that I’m the best candidate to beat Chris Pappas.”

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Both Brown and Innis have traveled to the nation’s capital to meet with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and with Trump’s political team. 

“President Trump will pay close attention and my guess is he will probably play in this race and I hope I’m his choice,” Innis said.