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Chris Sununu announced what many in New Hampshire’s political world had expected, that the popular former Republican governor would forgo a 2026 run for the U.S. Senate in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen.
Jeanne Shaheen. Sununu’s announcement, made in a radio interview at the Concord studios of the “Pulse of New Hampshire,” dashed the hopes of plenty of national Republicans who had courted him as they work to flip the S enate seat from blue to red in the 2026 midterm elections. “I’m not going to run,” Sununu told host Jack Heath.
“For me and my family, it’s just not right for us.” The decision by Sununu, who was once a very vocal GOP critic of President Donald Trump, came roughly a week after he met at the White House with the president. Trump, when asked by reporters about Sununu as he flew to Washington, D.
C., on Sunday night aboard Air Force One, revealed the meeting. “I told him — he came to my office, came to the Oval Office, and [I] met with Chris Sununu, and I support him fully.
I hope he runs,” Trump said. Sununu said in his radio interview that he appreciated Trump’s support. “I’m honored and grateful that he would make the effort.
He invited me down. We had a great conversation,” Sununu said. “The only reason I kept the door open was because of the president.
His words and his support meant a lot.” Article continues after..
. Cross|Word Flipart Typeshift SpellTower Really Bad Chess Sununu is confident he’s made the right decision. “I’m very at peace with it,” he said.
Sununu, who left office in January with very positive approval and favorable ratings after winning election and re-election to four straight two-year terms, was seen by national Republicans as the strongest candidate to win the seat. However, he was not the only Republican mulling a Senate bid in New Hampshire. Former Sen.
Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who later moved to New Hampshire and narrowly lost to Shaheen in the 2014 election, is seriously considering a 2026 run. Brown, who served four years as U.S.
ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first administration, has been holding meetings with Republicans across New Hampshire for a couple of months and has met multiple times with GOP officials in the nation’s capital. “ @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,” Brown wrote in a social media post following Sununu’s Tuesday announcement. On the Democratic side, four-term Rep.
Chris Pappas formally launched his campaign last week. Over the years, Sununu and Trump have had an up-and-down relationship. Sununu supported Trump during the 2016 general election and again when Trump unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2020.
The then-governor had a strong working relationship with the Trump White House, including close ties with then-Vice President Mike Pence. However, Sununu pushed back against Trump’s unproven claims that the 202 presidential election was “rigged” and “stolen.” He also stated in early 2021 that the GOP was larger than any one person, which was perceived as a swipe at the then-former president.
Sununu amped up his criticism of the former president during numerous national interviews on cable news networks and Sunday talk shows over the ensuing years, repeatedly arguing that Trump had too much political baggage to win back the White House. Additionally, Sununu began mulling a possible 2024 White house run of his own, which he ultimately decided against. But Sununu kept up the criticism of Trump as he became a top supporter and surrogate of former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov.
Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Haley ended up being the final rival to Trump in the nomination race. Trump occasionally returned fire at Sununu, calling him a “spoiled brat” and a “nasty guy,” among other things.
After Trump clinched the 2024 GOP nomination, however, Sununu repeatedly said he would vote for his party’s presidential nominee. Earlier this year, Sununu told this reporter that “Donald Trump is the head of the party, and he’s the voice of the Republican Party, and I got to say, I think he’s doing a pretty darn good job in the first couple months.” On Tuesday, Sununu continued to praise Trump.
“I respect what he’s doing. I really do,” Sununu said of the president. “There’s definitely a different attitude down in Washington and I thought, wow, I could really be part of this.
He’s talking about the things I care about – fiscal responsibility and making tough decisions.” Four years ago, Sununu expressed interest in running for the Senate against his predecessor as governor, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022.
The popular governor was heavily courted by national Republicans to take on Hassan, but on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor, upsetting many Republicans in the nation’s capital. Additionally, he heavily criticized the Senate.
“They debate and talk and nothing gets done,” he said at the time. Sununu said multiple times last year that he had no interest in running for the Senate in 2026 and looked forward to returning to the private sector. However, after Shaheen announced she would not see re-election, Sununu was lobbied by National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Sen.
Tim Scott to take another look at running. On Tuesday, Sununu said it was a possibility. “I really thought about it.
I talked to the White House this morning. I talked to Tim Scott..
. thanked them for all their support and confidence,” he said. He reiterated that “I’d win the race.
That wasn’t the concern.”.
