The race for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District has another candidate.
Portsmouth businessman Anthony DiLorenzo is joining the Republican primary, and is expected to roll out his campaign Wednesday afternoon at a Portsmouth tavern.
DiLorenzo is a real estate developer and owner of the Key Auto Group, which includes more than two dozen car dealerships and collision centers in New Hampshire and other states.
DiLorenzo also owns Planet Fitness locations in California. In 2023, he spent $9 million to buy the former U.S. Post Office in downtown Portsmouth, which he hopes to turn into a mixed-use commercial and residential space.
The 61-year-old DiLorenzo is a regular donor to GOP candidates, including former Gov. Chris Sununu and Karoline Leavitt (who now serves as White House press secretary) during her 2022 run in the 1st Congressional District.
But this will be DiLorenzo’s first run for elected office himself.
A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, DiLorenzo has also been a prolific booster to his alma mater’s athletic department. In 2022, he gave UNH $4 million to revamp its hockey facilities at the Whittemore Center.
DiLorenzo’s deep pockets have already affected this year’s 1st District Republican primary. Last month, Chris Bright, a Derry businessman who ran in the same district last year — and who was the first candidate to declare for the 2026 race — pulled out of the race to support DiLorenzo even before he announced his candidacy.
Beyond details about his wealth and party affiliation, DiLorenzo’s public profile is slim when it comes to his politics or skill as a campaigner. But when his campaign launched an X account Tuesday, it did so by following a single person: President Donald Trump.
There are already three declared GOP candidates running in the 1st District: Hollie Noveletsky, owner of Novel Iron Works, who also sought this seat last year; Bedford GOP Committee Vice Chair Melissa Bailey; and Manchester State Rep. Brian Cole. Elizabeth Girard, a former leader of the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women, filed a campaign committee in August but has yet to actively campaign.
Democrats now running for the 1st District seat are Stefany Shaheen, a former Portsmouth city councilor and daughter of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen; New Hampshire Democratic Party Vice Chair Maura Sullivan of New Castle; Hampton selectboard member Carleigh Beriont; ex-Pentagon lawyer Christian Urrutia; Sarah Chadzinsky, a non-profit director from Lyndeborough; and Strafford state Rep. Heath Howard.
Others in both parties are eyeing potential bids.
The race for the 1st District is wide open in 2026, due to four-term incumbent Congressman Chris Pappas’ decision to seek the U.S. Senate seat that Jeanne Shaheen will retire from next year.
