Gov. Chris Sununu will not enter the 2026 U.S. Senate race, telling New Hampshire radio host Jack Heath, “It’s just not for me.”
“I’m not going to run,” Sununu, 50, said Tuesday morning. “I really thought about it. I actually talked to the White House this morning. I talked to (U.S. Sen.) Tim Scott. Thanked him for all their support and confidence and all that. But I don’t have to be the candidate, and I’m not going to be the candidate.”
The successful four-term governor was widely viewed as the Republican Party’s best chance to win a federal race in a state where Democrats have dominated the D.C. delegation since the 2010 Tea Party wave. Republicans have won just one federal race — the 1st Congressional District in 2014 — since then.
Sununu acknowledged the Republican Party has struggled in those races, but he insisted the state is still in play for the GOP.
“This is a very winnable seat by a Republican, it doesn’t have to be me. I think 2026 is wide open for New Hampshire to say, ‘Hey, we’re a bipartisan state. How about we have a bipartisan voice in D.C.?’ We don’t. We only have these progressive left Democrats for more than eight years now, driving one side of a message.
“We’re a purple state,” Sununu added. “We don’t have a purple voice, and so there’s a huge opportunity.”
Sununu gave a reason for staying out of the race that many observers have mentioned since he re-emerged as a potential candidate: his family.
“I thought about, is it right for me and my family? For me and my family, it’s just not right for us.”
The Republican National Senatorial Committee released a statement after Sununu’s announcement.
“The NRSC continues to believe Republicans are going to win New Hampshire in 2026. 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 winning campaigns,” said NRSC spokesman Nick Puglia.
“New Hampshire’s Tom Brady stays retired,” said GOP consultant Matthew Bartlett.
As for potential GOP candidates, Heath brought up former ambassador and U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who also released a statement Tuesday morning.
“Gov. Chris Sununu and the entire Sununu family are patriots who have made our state a better place,” Brown said. “Looking forward to seeing what’s next for him and working alongside him for New Hampshire’s future.”
Sununu predicted there will be a GOP primary, though he didn’t mention any potential candidates. In fact, he implied the national GOP is still candidate shopping.
“I was talking to Sen. Tim Scott this morning, and he said, you know, let us know who else might be in this race. But we’ve got a long time to figure this out.”
On the Democratic side, Sununu said U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who announced his Senate bid last week, isn’t likely to face a serious challenge in the primary.
“My guess is no one of real substance, to be honest. Look, the guy knows how to run a race,” Sununu said. And he offered some advice for the state’s other U.S. House member, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, who says she’s considering getting in.
“If Maggie Goodlander is listening, I think she’d be crazy to run. I think Maggie Goodlander, as much as I disagree with her in our politics, has the opportunity to be a Democrat superstar down in the House of Representatives, if she wanted to be,” Sununu said.
“So why do you give that up right away to potentially lose a primary?”
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