The WMUR debate between U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-NH and Dr. Karishma Manzur Friday night for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate included immigration reform, supporting Israel, and funding for police departments in New Hampshire.
Manzur is a medical scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology, and has spent over 20 years working on treatments for illnesses like epilepsy and depression. She also serves on the board of NH Ranked Choice Voting and previously served on the boards of NH Open Democracy Action and NH Peace Action, per her campaign website.
Pappas served three terms on New Hampshire’s Executive Council, where he fought to expand Medicaid, invest in renewable energy, and protect funding for Planned Parenthood. In Congress, he worked on several key issues per his website: pushing tax cuts for working families and small businesses; cracking down on predatory companies that target veterans and pollute our water; and standing up to Big Pharma to lower drug costs.
There were no Republican debates for the seat because former Senator John Sununu declined to participate.
Commentator Steve Bottari noted childcare costs nationwide are rising faster than inflation, and asked the candidates what their plan was to help reduce those costs.
Pappas said he’s been fighting to get resources to childcare providers so that they can open more slots, improve wages, and that they can “meet the needs of New Hampshire families.”
He also noted in the past he supported legislation that would cap childcare costs at seven percent of a family’s income and “ensure that we’re investing in our great providers in the state of New Hampshire.”
Manzur said: “It’s a very simple answer: universal childcare. We need that immediately. We’re already used to having from K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade), we should just expand it and allow children as young as six months to be a part of the public education program. This is going to alleviate all of the issues that families are facing.
“I am a mother, I have two children, and I also had to make these decisions: do I go to work, or do I stay home? Because childcare was so expensive, and this was already 20 years ago.”
Manzur added that the government is spending money on endless wars and suggested using some of those funds to invest in New Hampshire communities and its children.
Commentators pointed out that Pappas had been a “major supporter of the U.S.-Israel alliance,” and said many young Democrats say they’ll never vote for a candidate that supports Israel in any way. Pappas was asked if he would ever fully agree with the voters who want 100% opposition to Israel.
“I appreciate the passionate views on all sides, and we’ve got to be listening, and making sure that young people in particular have a voice… I think what’s important is that both Israelis and Palestinians have security and an opportunity to live in peace (and) coexist side-by-side.
“I support a two-state solution, I support increasing aid to the Palestinians right now, and making sure that this very fragile ceasefire gets to the next stages, so that the Israeli military will pull out of Gaza, Hamas will lay down their arms, and there’s an opportunity for civil society to be rebuilt,” Pappas said.
Bottari asked Manzur why she believed Israel was wrong to respond militarily to the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
Manzur wanted to be clear that it wasn’t about Jewish people or their religion, but that it was about “Benjamin Netanyahu and his ultra right-wing government.”
Manzur said that Netanyahu has control over almost 90% of Congress as well as the White House. She said he’s addicted to killing, and that using “our troops, our money, and our weapons to advance his policies.”
“We must have a foreign policy based on national security and national interests, not the whims of a foreign genocidal government. We must bring the power back to the American people,” she said.
Commentators asked Manzur who they think should enforce immigration laws if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were to be abolished.
Manzur said she initially entered the country as an immigrant and went through the Immigration Naturalization Service under the Department of Justice, and never felt threatened or mistreated. She wants to return immigration efforts to a process like that, noting that there can still be immigration enforcement if ICE is abolished.
She said Pappas supported the Laken Riley Act which “empowered ICE to terrorize our communities.”
“The fact is, I’m standing up to (President) Donald Trump on immigration because it’s unacceptable what’s happening in the streets of America. With respect to that bill, that was about making sure immigrants that were undocumented and committing violent crimes are held accountable. I support — and I think the people of New Hampshire support — going after criminals who are committing violence in our communities.
“But we have got to make sure that we’re treating immigrants with dignity… People have been killed from Biddeford, Maine, to Texas and Minnesota, and it’s unacceptable,” Pappas responded.
Pappas was asked to specify how he would reform ICE, and said he’s led legislation to go after the “$75 billion slush fund they (the Trump Administration) were given in the big ugly bill (the Big Beautiful Bill) last year,” and wants to invest it in community-based policing.
Commentator Christa Delcamp said the U.S. Department of Justice sent more than $12 million to New Hampshire in 2025 to support local law enforcement. She said it provided money for training, equipment, and helped to hire personnel.
She asked both candidates if they thought that amount of spending should be increased, decreased, or eliminated.
Pappas said he thinks we should increase federal spending with respect to public safety “because it helps our local budgets,” and said he’s worked with different police chiefs to get modern radio and better equipment.
Manzur said her brother is a law enforcement officer in Indiana, and that she will always turn to law enforcement officials to understand their needs “and I will always address their needs, whatever it is they need.”