Former Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.) told an interviewer Thursday that, while he’s still trying to decide if he should run for U.S. Senate in 2026, if he does get in the race — it’s over.
When it comes to running for the U.S. Senate, Sununu told radio host Guy Benson, “I’ve always said my biggest fear is that I would win. I’m not too worried about that. Actually, I would win, by the way.”
When Benson followed up, Sununu doubled down.
“I know my voters. I’m connected to the voters,” Sununu said. “I’m not taking it for granted…you’d have to run hard. But I know how to run. I know how to win. I just I know my voters and they know me.
“And so if I really wanted to do this, I have no doubt we could be very, very successful. I know that sounds arrogant and all that kind of crap. I don’t care. I’m just saying these are the ABCs of me winning.”
After serving four terms, Sununu left office in January as one of the most popular governors in the country. He flirted with a U.S. Senate run against Sen. Maggie Hassan in 2022, and he briefly flirted with a 2024 White House bid. For years, Sununu has said he has no interest in serving as one-of-100 in the Senate, saying his skills were as an executive, not a legislator.
But that may be changing.
On the eve of Shaheen’s announcement, Sununu gave an interview in which he said Republicans have been asking him to run for Senate, and he was “considering” it. He told Benson the prospects of serving in the Senate look different now, in part thanks to Trump’s DOGE initiative.
“Back (in 2022), I had Republicans in the U.S. Senate telling me that balancing budgets didn’t matter. America didn’t care, and it wasn’t important. And I basically said, ‘Screw you.’ I’m a budget hawk. I’m not going to become part of a group that doesn’t stand for efficiency and good government values and having the moral courage to make tough decisions,” Sununu said.
“Clearly, that has changed. We have DOGE going on — thank you, President Trump. He’s talking about balancing budgets. He’s driving that message. And there’s a need for leadership on something that I believe very, very strongly. There’s a different attitude now. They’re taking their job seriously.”
Shaheen mocked Sununu for his support of the DOGE effort.
“He’s talking about how he wants to be part of the Trump-Musk-DOGE effort,” said told Semafor when asked about Sununu getting in the race. “That doesn’t play very well in New Hampshire, and I think it’s going to play less well the longer we go into their efforts. So, that’s the position that he’s taking. I think that’s not going to be a very popular position.”
Ambassador and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is also considering entering the race. Brown served as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to New Zealand, but he also was very vocal in his criticism of Trump’s behavior on Jan. 6, 2021.
Sununu has also been an aggressive Trump critic, particularly during the First in the Nation presidential primary last year, when he endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Would Trump try to punish him if he ran for U.S. Senate?
Not at all, Sununu said.
“I was at the White House three weeks ago,” he told Benson. “That relationship is not of concern. There’s a great understanding. I’ve been very supportive of what he’s been doing with DOGE.”
As for his criticisms of Trump last year, Sununu chalked it up to politics.
“Everyone ran tough in the primary. I mean, come on,” Sununu said. “And as soon as he won, we said, ‘Okay, look, this is where we’ve got to go. He’s he’s got the right message.’
“Everyone has seen me out in the media for the last year working hard for the Republican Party, working hard to get folks to vote the right way. That is the least of my concerns, to be honest.”
David Bergstein, communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told The Hill he isn’t worried.
“No Republican has won a Senate race in over a decade in New Hampshire, and that trend will continue in 2026. This is exactly the kind of state where the building midterm backlash against Republicans will hit their candidates especially hard.”
