ANCA-Endorsed Candidates Win Big, Azerbaijani Money Falls Short in 2026 Midterms

— Pappas Defeats Azerbaijan-Tied Sununu in New Hampshire; 90 Percent of ANCA-Endorsed Candidates Win Called Races as House and Senate Flip, Restoring Checks and Balances

WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian American voters left their mark on the 2026 midterm elections, imposing electoral costs on candidates who profit from Azerbaijan’s occupation of Armenian lands or carry Baku’s water in Congress, while ninety percent of the Senate and House candidates endorsed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) won their called races. The ANCA’s marquee victory came in New Hampshire, where Rep. Chris Pappas defeated former Sen. John E. Sununu, who personally holds millions in a foreign company mining occupied Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

“Corrupt American politicians can’t get away with secretly pocketing Aliyev’s bribes – not anymore. We dragged Baku’s corruption out from the shadows and into television campaign ads, turning this dirty money into a political liability. They thought they could keep cashing in for free. On election night, the ANCA sent them the bill. The Azerbaijani petrodollars that once bought their votes now cost them votes. That’s a service to our community – and to our country,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

The ANCA is already working to put Armenian American priorities before every Member of the 120th Congress, and looking ahead to the 2028 Presidential and Congressional elections. Armenian Americans can review the results and help advance the community’s agenda at the ANCA Nationwide Townhall, “Our Work Starts Now: Post-Midterm Analysis and Action.” The townhall takes place Thursday, November 5th at 9:00PM EST / 6:00PM PST via Zoom. Registration is free at anca.org/townhall. Full results are available at anca.org/electionhub.

Sending Pappas to the Senate

The Associated Press called New Hampshire’s open Senate seat, vacated by retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, for Pappas by a margin of 56 percent to 42 percent. Pappas, graded “A” by the ANCA, has stood with Artsakh refugees, pressed for the release of Armenian hostages held in Baku, and backed enforcement of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan.

In a May 11 financial disclosure obtained by Politico, Sununu reported up to $5 million in Anglo Asian Mining stock. He also reported a stake in Sununu Holdings LLC, the company’s second-largest shareholder. His father, former White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, and his brother, Michael Sununu, sit on the company’s board. Azerbaijan handed Anglo Asian Mining the Kashen copper mine in Artsakh’s Martakert region in 2022, a year before Armenians were driven from the region.

ANCA National Grassroots Director Gev Iskajyan and ANCA Programs Director Michael Tatevossian pressed Sununu on those ties in a July 27 NH Journal op-ed, “Transparency is a Two-Way Street in Tight NH Senate Race.” ANCA grassroots advocacy kept the issue before Granite State voters through Election Day, and it reached the airwaves in campaign television ads.

Going Seven for Seven in the Senate

All seven ANCA-endorsed Senate candidates won their election bids. In Michigan, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won the open seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters, defeating former Rep. Mike Rogers.

“The Trump administration’s blank check for military aid to Azerbaijan in the face of ongoing atrocities is a blatant violation of international law. As Michigan’s next Senator, I will stand up for the peace, dignity, security, and self-determination of the Armenian people—and all people—and for international law,” El-Sayed told the ANCA during the campaign.

Sherrod Brown returns to the Senate after defeating Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio’s special election. Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Jack Reed (D-RI), both graded “A+,” won reelection, as did Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), graded “A.” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), graded “A-,” also won reelection and is expected to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 120th Congress.

Bringing Real Oversight to Congress

With the House and Senate both changing hands, in the first midterm since 2006 to flip both chambers, Americans have returned to divided government, with one party in the White House and the other leading Congress. That balance restores the checks and balances at the heart of our Constitution, strengthening Congress’s hand to question, investigate, and hold the Executive Branch accountable. For Armenian Americans, the new majorities bring Congressional oversight of the Trump Administration’s Section 907 waivers and U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan. That oversight also extends to the proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) through Armenia’s Syunik province and to U.S. diplomacy on the freedom of Armenian hostages held in Baku.

Reelecting Armenian Caucus Leaders

ANCA-endorsed House candidates won fifty of the fifty-five races called so far, returning a strong bipartisan pro-Armenian bloc to the 120th Congress. Leading that bloc are Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chairs Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Vice Chair Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), all graded “A+.” Pallone, the founding Co-Chair of the Caucus, has led for decades on Artsakh, which he has visited multiple times, and on the full range of Armenian American concerns. Bilirakis, who has served since 2007, co-led the Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act with Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), another “A+” ally, who introduced the Armenian Genocide Education Act (H.R.2585). Pallone and Bilirakis also joined Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI), graded “A+,” in leading the Lawler-Pallone-Bilirakis-Amo letter demanding enforcement of Section 907. Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has spent three decades pressing for enforcement of Section 907, sanctions on Azerbaijan, aid for Artsakh and Armenia, Armenian Genocide education, and protection of Armenian Christian heritage.

Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), and Laura Friedman (D-CA), all graded “A+,” also return, alongside Republican allies including Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), and Vince Fong (R-CA).

Holding Opponents Accountable

Thirty percent of Members graded “D-” or “F” will not return in January. Five retired: Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Ryan Zinke (R-MT). That share would rise to thirty-five percent if Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), who trails by roughly 5,000 votes, loses a race the AP has not yet called.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) lost his seat after cosponsoring H.R.6534, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-FL) bill to lift restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, which the ANCA has fought nationwide at anca.org/luna. Owens was also a cosponsor. Luna holds a narrow lead in a race the AP has not called, as does fellow cosponsor Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ). In North Carolina, Rep. Virginia Foxx, graded “D,” a member of the Congressional Turkey and Azerbaijan Caucuses who voted against the 2019 Armenian Genocide resolution, trails by just ninety-nine votes.

In Texas’ 28th District, Rep. Henry Cuellar, graded “F,” held his seat against ANCA-endorsed Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina. Cuellar is Co-Chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus. The ANCA worked closely with Tijerina from the early days of his campaign, beginning with ANCA Texas outreach and an April visit to ANCA national headquarters. Tijerina put Cuellar’s record squarely before South Texas voters, with television ads on his May 2024 federal indictment for accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijani state-controlled entities. ANCA grassroots advocacy, including its long-running #ExpelCuellar campaign, kept the indictment and President Trump’s December 2025 pardon of Cuellar at the center of district news coverage. The ANCA thanks Judge Tijerina for taking on that fight.

ANCA-Endorsed Winners

U.S. Senate

Chris Coons (D-DE), Ed Markey (D-MA), Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI)

U.S. House

·         California: Tom McClintock (R-5), Lateefah Simon (D-12), Kevin Mullin (D-15), Zoe Lofgren (D-18), Vince Fong (R-20), Jim Costa (D-21), George Whitesides (D-27), Judy Chu (D-28), Laura Friedman (D-30), Gil Cisneros (D-31), Brad Sherman (D-32), Ted Lieu (D-36), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-37), Hilda Solis (D-38), Linda Sanchez (D-41), Dave Min (D-47), Mike Levin (D-49)

·         Delaware: Sarah McBride (D-AL)

·         Florida: Gus Bilirakis (R-12)

·         Illinois: Delia Ramirez (D-3), Mike Quigley (D-5), Brad Schneider (D-10), Nikki Budzinski (D-13)

·         Maine: Chellie Pingree (D-1)

·         Massachusetts: James McGovern (D-2), Lori Trahan (D-3), Jake Auchincloss (D-4), Katherine Clark (D-5), Stephen Lynch (D-8)

·         Michigan: Rashida Tlaib (D-12)

·         Missouri: Wesley Bell (D-1)

·         Nevada: Dina Titus (D-1), Susie Lee (D-3), Steven Horsford (D-4)

·         New Jersey: Donald Norcross (D-1), Christopher Smith (R-4), Josh Gottheimer (D-5), Frank Pallone (D-6), Rob Menendez (D-8)

·         New York: Tom Suozzi (D-3), Grace Meng (D-6), Nicole Malliotakis (R-11), George Latimer (D-16), Paul Tonko (D-20)

·         Ohio: David Taylor (R-2), Warren Davidson (R-8)

·         Rhode Island: Gabe Amo (D-1), Seth Magaziner (D-2)

·         Texas: Joaquín Castro (D-20)

·         Virginia: Don Beyer (D-8)

Still Too Close to Call

Luz Rivas (D-CA-29), Young Kim (R-CA-40)