Chris Sununu, the popular former Republican governor of New Hampshire, will not run for Senate next year to replace retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
A possible contender national Republicans have perennially tried to recruit, Sununu revealed his decision Tuesday after speaking with the White House and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the chairman of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm.
“It’s not for me,” Sununu told local radio show The Pulse of NH. “I talked to the White House this morning. I talked to Tim Scott. Thanked him for all their support and confidence. But I don’t have to be the candidate, and I’m not going to be the candidate.”
Sununu’s decision not to run in New Hampshire, a competitive state Republicans hope to flip, came just two days after President Donald Trump endorsed him. Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP presidential primary and has a checkered past with Trump. However, the two have recently appeared to patch up their relationship.
“I support him fully. I hope he runs,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One over the weekend. “He’s been very nice to me over the last year or so. But I hope he runs.”
Sununu’s announcement was a boon for Scott Brown, another possible GOP recruit who served Massachusetts in the Senate and was U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa during Trump’s first term.
Brown, like Sununu, has also met with national Republicans in Washington, D.C., in recent months.
Brown posted on social media, “@ChrisSununu and the entire Sununu family are patriots who have made our state a better place – looking forward to seeing what’s next for him and working alongside him for New Hampshire’s future #nhpolitics.”
On the Democratic side, Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) launched his campaign last week. Sununu described Pappas as “tough to beat” in the primary but “very beatable in the general.”
Pappas used the Sununu news to take his latest whack at Trump.
“Chris Sununu went to the White House to nab an endorsement while Trump was destroying the economy and pushing devastating cuts to Medicaid,” Pappas posted on X. “Apparently the cost of a Trump endorsement is selling out New Hampshire. Hope it was worth it.”
The Senate campaign arms for both parties spun the Sununu news as a positive development.
Senate Democrats called Sununu’s pass an “embarrassing recruitment failure.”
“Republicans have not won a Senate race in New Hampshire in more than a decade, and in 2026 Democrats will continue to hold this seat,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director Maeve Coyle.
SENATE DEMOCRATS SEE HOPE FOR MIDTERMS WITH 2024 DOWNBALLOT RESULTS
Nonpartisan election forecasters give Democrats a slight edge to retain the seat. In a recent campaign memo, Senate Republicans cited internal polling to make the case that the Granite State is a toss-up.
“While Democrats duke it out in a race to the left, we are excited about the number of candidates we are talking to who appreciate the privilege of representing Granite Staters in the Senate and are ready to build winnings campaigns,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Nick Puglia.
