{"id":10629,"date":"2025-04-10T17:11:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T09:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10629"},"modified":"2025-04-10T17:11:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T09:11:03","slug":"sununu-deals-setback-to-gop-in-new-hampshire-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10629","title":{"rendered":"Sununu deals setback to GOP in New Hampshire Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu\u2019s (R) decision not to run for Senate is presenting a challenge for Republicans as they turn their sights on the state ahead of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sununu\u2019s announcement was not necessarily surprising to Republicans. He notably passed on a Senate bid ahead of the 2022 midterms, opting to run for a fourth term as governor instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But New Hampshire Republicans say a Sununu Senate run, which was backed by President Trump, would have made the race next year a cakewalk. Hypothetical polls showed Sununu trouncing Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision leaves Republicans with the potentially tricky task of having to recruit a candidate who can win in a state that still has a blue lean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to mean that we\u2019re actually going to have to work for it,\u201d New Hampshire state House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R) said. \u201cI think he would have been a shoo-in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LISTEN: Johnson scraps vote on Trump budget blueprint in face of conservative opposition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sununu stoked speculation about a potential bid when Trump told reporters Sunday that he met with the former governor and said he hoped he would run for the seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was more of a surprise than him not running,\u201d former New Hampshire GOP Chair Chris Ager said. \u201cThat was the aberration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And Sununu taking his name out of the running does not mean Republicans see an unfavorable environment in the state heading into next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe NRSC continues to believe Republicans are going to win New Hampshire in 2026,\u201d said Nick Puglia, regional press secretary at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile 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 winning campaigns,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Sen. Jeanne Shaheen\u2019s (D-N.H.) announcement that she would not seek reelection earlier this month, the NRSC released internal polling showing a favorable environment for Republicans in the Granite State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the poll, Republicans hold a 1-point advantage on the state\u2019s generic ballot. The poll also showed Republicans leading in voter enthusiasm, with 92 percent of registered Republicans indicating they would back the GOP candidate. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats expressed \u201csimilar commitment\u201d to voting for the Democratic candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republicans point to their improved voter registration in the state. As of October, Republicans led Democrats in voter registration in the state by roughly 38,000. According to the NRSC polling memo, the GOP had a registration advantage of more than 48,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Republicans also point to Trump\u2019s improved performance in the state in November. Trump lost the state to former Vice President Kamala Harris by just under 3 points, a marked improvement from when he lost the state to former President Biden by just more than 7 points in 2020. Last year also saw New Hampshire Republicans perform well at the state level, including Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Republicans who are elected in the state have a positive image. More Republicans are registering. It\u2019s time to get some federal representation,\u201d Ager said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting things done for the state, and the Democrats in Washington are replaying the resist game that they did in 2016, which doesn\u2019t seem to be gaining any traction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Democrats argue the environment on the ground in New Hampshire has turned worse for Republicans as Democrats warn of potential Medicaid cuts in order to help pay for Trump\u2019s legislative agenda, coupled with Sununu declining to run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChris Sununu\u2019s decision not to run for Senate is an embarrassing recruitment failure for Republicans as they face a building midterm backlash driven by their threats to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and their push to spike costs for families,\u201d Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee communications director Maeve Coyle said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And over the past week, Trump\u2019s global tariffs have wreaked havoc on financial markets, sparking concern from some Republicans in Washington and New Hampshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m guessing that doesn\u2019t go well up here,\u201d Osborne said. \u201cSome of us are a little more vocal about it than others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same internal polling released by the NRSC earlier this month before Trump\u2019s tariffs went into effect showed 31 percent of New Hampshire independents identifying inflation, jobs and the cost of living \u201cas the most important issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Republicans note it\u2019s too early to tell how tariffs will play out over in the year and a half between now and the midterms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are 14 months away from the filing period,\u201d Ager said. \u201cIn two or three days, the whole tariff situation could slip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Sununu out of the running, attention has turned to former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown, who has publicly expressed interest in running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A senior adviser to Brown told The Hill that there is no timeline for him making an official decision, noting that a run will be a challenge in the blue state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll decisions will be made in due time, when he thinks he needs to get in to raise the amount of resources to mount a competitive campaign in what will be a potentially challenging political climate,\u201d the adviser said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the very few pickup opportunities in the Senate map, at the macro Senate level, in terms of opportunities to flip a blue seat red,\u201d the adviser said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The race will also depend on whom the Democratic candidate is. Pappas officially jumped into the race last week, while Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) has also expressed interest in running. If Goodlander were to jump in, that could set the stage for a contentious Democratic primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Sununu out, it seems like a high-profile, competitive primary on the GOP side is off the table for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think a primary between Scott Brown and Chris Sununu would have been fun to watch,\u201d Shaheen told The Hill on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu\u2019s (R) decision not to run for Senate is presenting a challenge for Republicans as they turn their sights on the state ahead of 2026. Sununu\u2019s announcement was not necessarily surprising to Republicans. He notably passed on a Senate bid ahead of the 2022 midterms, opting to run for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2702,1733,3233],"class_list":["post-10629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-hampshire","tag-new","tag-sununu"],"yoast_head":"\nSununu deals setback to GOP in New Hampshire Senate race - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=10629\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sununu deals setback to GOP in New Hampshire Senate race - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former New Hampshire Gov. 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