At the end of his first term in office, Morning Consult polling ranked Gov. Chris Sununu as the fourth most popular governor in the country.
Now at the end of his final term, the New Hampshire Republican remains one of America’s most popular governors, ranked number six with a nearly two-to-one approval rating (63-32 percent).
“This ranking isn’t about me; it’s a testament to New Hampshire’s commonsense, no-nonsense approach. We focus on what matters to families and businesses and we get the job done,” Sununu told NHJournal.
The numbers are good news for both the outgoing governor and his party as Republicans head into the November elections. And it’s problematic for Democrats like former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington as they try to make the “it’s time for a change” argument when voters overwhelmingly approve of what they’ve got now.
“I’m surprised it’s not higher,” quipped Sen. Daryl Abbas (R-Salem) “Look, he led the way on what we’ve accomplished: tax cuts, growing the economy, low unemployment rate. That’s the record all our Republican candidates are going to be running on.”
When asked about the Democrats’ dilemma of running against Sununu and what issue they might use against him, Abbas said voters can already see problem for themselves.
“What is Cinde Warmington running on? I honestly don’t know. What issue does she want to change? What about [Joyce] Craig? All we’re hearing from them is abortion. That’s their only position. They’re running against an ‘abortion ban’ that doesn’t exist.”
(New Hampshire law allows unrestricted abortion for the first six months of pregnancy.)
Abbas added that Granite Staters “are going to miss Sununu when he’s gone,” a sentiment shared by veteran GOP strategist Michael Dennehy.
“A large part of Sununu’s appeal is his charisma, and he regularly travels the state to simply check in with residents to see how they’re feeling. It’s smart because people believe he cares about them.”
And in stark contrast to the two Democrats running to replace him, Sununu is very accessible to the press. He holds an open press event after nearly every Executive Council meeting, and during the COVID crisis he was taking questions live on television from all comers, including leftwing outlets like InDepthNH and NHPR.
Craig and Warmington, on the other hand, have not held an open press event since filing their candidacy documents with the secretary of state.
Warmington has attacked Craig over being unwilling to appear in public and participate in forums. She’s also accused the former Manchester mayor of avoiding debates, though Craig’s campaign says they’re already in talks with WMUR to appear in a televised Democratic primary debate.
Warmington has her own transparency issues, however. On Thursday morning, she bragged on WGIR radio, “I’m conducting interviews. We just held a press conference yesterday. I just think it’s really important to be transparent and available to the public.”
But Warmington’s campaign refused to allow a reporter from NHJournal to cover that press conference. Asked about how barring members of the New Hampshire Press Association from her press events reflects “commitment to transparency” and “being available to the public,” Warmington declined to answer.
Sununu’s popularity makes his endorsement the most sought after in the state, and he has committed to endorsing one of the two Republican candidates in the gubernatorial primary, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte or former state Senate President Chuck Morse.
Dennehy says that endorsement will matter, not just in the primary but in November, too.
