The races in each of New Hampshire’s two congressional districts are shaping up as classic battles between self-avowed conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats.>> Download the FREE WMUR appThat’s especially the case in the bitter the 1st District race in which Republican Matt Mowers is taking on first-term incumbent Democrat Chris Pappas. Mowers has the endorsement of President Donald Trump and his loyalists inside and outside of the state. Pappas is receiving the backing of the Democratic establishment in New Hampshire and Washington.1st CD debate coverage: Pappas, Mowers face off in fiery debateView full video from the debateBoth are also working hard in the proverbial grassroots. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Mowers has been on the road for several months with in-person events, while Pappas, like many Democrats, campaigned virtually for a longer period of time than his opponent but has held numerous socially-distanced roundtables and discussions.The issues range from traditional Republican versus Democratic charges and counter-charges over taxes, reproductive rights and the Second Amendment. But with unrest across the country this year, racial justice and law-and-order have also become key points in the campaign. Pappas supports removing qualified immunity protection for police officers – a key component of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed by the House in June. Mowers supports keeping qualified immunity intact. Mowers charges that Pappas “has undermined our law enforcement community” by taking that position. He has pointed out that Pappas’ fellow Democrats, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, agree with Mowers that it should not be removed.“No one in their right mind would ever confuse either Shaheen or Hassan for middle-of-the-road moderates, but that’s how far out of the mainstream Pappas has become by voting to take away qualified immunity from our law enforcement officers,” Mowers said. “In November, I will replace Pappas in Congress as a pro-police Representative who will stand with Granite State cops against criminals and the radical left.”>> Related: Charges of lying, homophobia continue after fiery debate between Democrat Pappas, Republican MowersMowers has picked up the endorsements of police unions that previously backed Pappas.Pappas says that he has worked closely with, and on behalf of, law enforcement, in particular by working to secure more funds to help Granite State police departments cover the costs of earning or renewing accreditation."This funding will help small and mid-sized law enforcement agencies to update their standards and best practices to strengthen accountability, enhance community trust, and improve operational effectiveness," Pappas' office said, noting that it was an idea that came from Pappas' own conversations with law enforcement officials.Mower, 31, of Bedford, has been a permanent resident of the state for only a few years, but he says he has a deep familiarity with New Hampshire because of his political work here for parts of the past seven years. He says his story is a middle-class New Hampshire story. A New Jersey native, Rutgers University graduate and longtime resident of the Garden State, Mowers was sent to New Hampshire by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and was placed as the executive director of the state Republican Party in 2013. In 2015, he headed Christie’s presidential campaign in the state – and after Christie left the race, Mowers joined the national Trump campaign.When Trump won the 2016 election, Mowers worked in a key role on the transition team. He then joined a consulting firm based in New Jersey headed by a former Christie aide.When Rex Tillerson was named Secretary of State, Mowers joined the State Department as an adviser appointed by the White House. There, he was chief of staff to Dr. Deborah Birx in the department Global AIDs program. He later came to New Hampshire to set up his own consulting firm. Mowers rejects charges from the Pappas campaign and the Democratic establishment that he is a political opportunist and carpetbagger. He said his roots in New Hampshire date back to his childhood, when his father, a construction worker and diver, worked on the cooling water intake and discharge system at the Seabrook nuclear power plant.In the Republican congressional primary, Mowers easily defeated veteran state Republican activist and former Dover city councilor Matt Mayberry, who went on to endorse Mowers.During that primary campaign, Mowers was endorsed by Trump. While the Trump endorsement helped Mowers in the primary, it remains to be seen whether the pre-primary endorsement helps in the general election.Polling by the University of New Hampshire and Saint Anselm survey centers show Pappas leading, but Mowers within striking distance in the final two weeks.And in this race, every vote will indeed count – literally.Pappas’s victory in 2018 was first time in a decade that the seat had been held by the same political party for two consecutive elections. Pappas’ predecessor, former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter did it in 2006 and 2008, but then the district flipped back and forth between Shea-Porter and Republican former U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016.Further illustrating the “swing” nature of the district is the fact that Trump won the district over Hillary Clinton in 2016 by the razor thin margin of 48.2 percent to 46.6 percent, while Clinton won the 2nd Congressional District 48.6 percent to 47.2 percent. Overall, Clinton won the state, 47.62 percent to 47.25 -- or 348,526 votes to 345,790 votes.Mowers says Pappas has not followed through on his 2018 campaign promise that he would be an independent voice in Washington. “Chris Pappas, who had promised New Hampshire that he was going to be an independent voice, went down to Washington, D.C., and supported Nancy Pelosi 100 percent of the time,” Mowers said earlier this year. “Chris Pappas campaigns like he’s JFK but he goes down to Washington and votes like he’s AOC,” Mowers said, referring to former President John F. Kennedy and current U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.Pappas fired back in a recent New Hampshire Public Radio debate, saying that despite Mowers’ contention that he’s a taxer, he opposes raising taxes on working people.“And,” Pappas said in an unusually sharp tone, “I don't need a lecture on New Hampshire values from someone who just moved here to launch a political career.”Pappas’ points to his support – along with the other three Democratic members of the congressional delegation – for bringing COVID-19 relief funds to the state.He is a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and was tapped to chair the panel’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. He is also a member of the House Transportation Committee and has claimed credit for a significant role in legislation called the “Invest in America” act that he says would deliver $1.3 billion to the state for various infrastructure projects over five years. The bill was part of a larger $1.5 trillion package that passed the House in July but has not been taken up by the Senate.But overall, Pappas says, “As someone who is from New Hampshire and is a member of the small business community here, this work and this campaign is very personal to me because it’s about the people that I know.”Pappas is a co-owner of the the Puritan Backroom restaurant and conference center. Although Pappas says he has stepped away from the day-to-day operations of the business, he also speaks often of his work there as a prime example of hands-on business experience.At the same time, Chris Pappas, 40, has been a political figure in New Hampshire for nearly two decades. He was elected to the New Hampshire House in 2002 and reelected two years later. In 2006, he was elected to the first of two terms as Hillsborough County treasurer and then lost a bid for a third term in 2010.Pappas was elected two years later as an executive councilor and was reelected in 2014 and 2016 before choosing to run for the U.S. House in 2018. He finished on top in an 11-person Democratic primary and easily won the general election to succeed the popular progressive maverick Shea-Porter.His victory was historic. He is the first openly gay person to serve in Congress from New Hampshire. One of his major supporters is the progressive pro-LBGTQ Human Rights Campaign. Mowers has picked up the endorsement of the leading GOP LGBTQ group, the Log Cabin Republicans. Democratic leaders believe that Pappas is capable of holding the seat for several terms and solidify it as a Democratic stronghold. Republicans see the same potential in the young and well-connected Mowers. This race may the first of several races between the two, regardless of who wins on Nov. 3.