Longtime Democrat senator's daughter takes aim at Trump, Musk, RFK Jr, in launch for key House swing seat

The eldest daughter of longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is taking a step to follow in her mother's political footsteps.

Stefany Shaheen on Wednesday declared her candidacy for the U.S. House in the open seat race in New Hampshire's competitive 1st Congressional District.

The younger Shaheen wasted no time in targeting President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, who has been steering Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, and Republicans in Congress.

In a campaign launch video, Shaheen spotlighted her efforts as a healthcare advocate for her daughter Elle, who has Type 1 diabetes. Shaheen said the diagnosis turned her "into a fierce fighter for medical research and innovation to help Elle and millions like her."

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"So, when I see Donald Trump crushing medical research and slashing health care for kids, seniors and veterans to give tax breaks to billionaires and corporations, I have to fight back. That's why I'm running for Congress," Shaheen said in a statement.. "No one fights harder than a mom for her kids, and that's how I will fight for your family, too. I'll never give up." 

Shaheen, in her video, also charged that Musk has been "chasing out our best scientists and doctors" and claimed that Kennedy is "allowing measles to run rampant because he believes in conspiracy theories instead of proven vaccines."

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House GOP's campaign arm, took aim at Shaheen over her famous family's political pedigree.

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"Nepo baby Stefany Shaheen is a DC elitist who is committed to the Democrats' radical agenda that makes life more expensive and less safe. Granite Staters will resoundingly reject her and her out of touch policies," NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O'Toole argued in a statement to Fox News.

Shaheen is running for the seat currently held by four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is campaigning to succeed the elder Shaheen, the first woman in U.S. history to be elected both as a governor and a U.S. senator.

The 78-year-old senator announced in March that she would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2026.

The move by the younger Shaheen, who previously served on the Portsmouth City Council and the Portsmouth Police Commission, sets up a likely blockbuster primary with Maura Sullivan, a New Hampshire Democratic Party vice chair. Sullivan is also a Marine veteran who served in the Iraq War and was the 2018 Democratic primary runner-up to Pappas in the 1st District.

Sullivan launched a congressional campaign last month.

New Hampshire's 1st District, which covers the eastern half of New England's only battleground state and includes the cities of Manchester and Portsmouth, was once one of the nation's premiere swing congressional districts. 

Republicans are aiming to flip the seat in next year's midterm election, and the race is likely to be competitive and expensive. However, no Republican has won the district since 2014.

In the race for the GOP congressional nomination, facilities management executive Chris Bright, who ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for the seat, has declared his candidacy.

Former state Sen. Russell Prescott, the 2024 nominee who lost to Pappas, is mulling another run for Congress.

So are New Hampshire GOP Vice Chair Hollie Noveletsky and Joe Kelly Levasseur, who, along with Bright, came in behind Prescott in the 2024 GOP primary. State Attorney General John Formella is also thought to be a possible contender for the GOP nomination.