A new memo from the Scott Brown campaign provides the latest proof that the Rye Republican has no plans to quietly concede the U.S. Senate GOP primary to John E. Sununu.
In a pointed five-page document circulated Monday, Brown’s campaign political director, Michael McEleney, laid out “Five Reasons Scott Brown Remains Well-Positioned” in the race. Most of those reasons focus on Sununu’s alleged shortcomings as a Republican candidate in the Trump era.
“John is stuck in the past,” McEleney said, calling Sununu “a candidate straight out of the 1990s.” He also argued Sununu doesn’t meet the current Republican political moment.
“In his announcement video, [Sununu] talked about the need to ‘lower the temperature’ and ‘calm the waters.’ Anyone who has attended a Trump rally or a meeting of conservative activists over the last decade knows how removed this mentality is from the grassroots,” McEleney wrote.
“Of course, John hasn’t been participating in our political process in a meaningful way for the last two decades. He’s been busy endorsing John Kasich in the 2016 presidential primary and raking in cash in the private sector. John is simply too far removed from reality to ever catch up. Listen to any interview with him and you’re likely to have trouble staying awake.”
The memo was released just hours after the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) released a list of U.S. senators who endorsed Sununu.
They include NRSC Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.), along with Sens. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Boyd Britt (R-Ala.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).
“John Sununu’s deep roots and passion for the Granite State make him built to win,” said Scott. “New Hampshire is ready for a proven leader who stands up for seniors, fights for economic and educational opportunity, and delivers real solutions to make life more affordable and prosperous. Granite Staters are fed up with Democrats like Chris Pappas, who is beholden to Nancy Pelosi and the most radical elements of his party instead of New Hampshire families.”
Axios reports the NRSC is hosting a Nov. 19 fundraiser for Sununu, with contributions starting at $1,000 and going up to $10,000. Sununu’s ability to raise millions of dollars from the national GOP is likely to play a major role in the race, campaign professionals say.
The Brown campaign is hoping to use that D.C. support against Sununu, arguing NRSC involvement in New Hampshire elections has done more harm than good.
“Then-Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte nearly had her 2010 bid torpedoed by meddling from the Washington crowd. Scott Brown is very comfortable in the insurgent and underdog role. The powers that be in Washington are making it easy for Brown to set up the insider vs. outsider fight,” according to the memo.
What do Granite State GOP campaign professionals think of Brown’s arguments?
“As the old saying goes, talk is cheap,” GOP strategist Michael Dennehy told NHJournal. “Can Scott Brown raise the money to be competitive with Sununu? That’s the $64,000 (or million) question.
“Let’s also remember, John E. Sununu bounced incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Smith from office. Regardless of the year, Sununu knows how to campaign as well as anyone. And the fact remains that it’s possible Sununu even has the support of Trump — just not public.”
Another GOP campaign veteran who spoke on background told NHJournal, “We’ve seen stories like this before — the anointed insider candidate vs. the scrappy outsider candidate — but never with two former U.S. senators. The memo throws down and gives off a Ric Flair ‘to be the man, you gotta beat the man’ vibe. Scott Brown clearly plans on sticking around to be the man John E. Sununu has to beat in the primary.”
Late Monday, the Washington Examiner reported on a campaign memo from the NRSC to donors describing Sununu as “a broadly popular Republican whose profile reflects New Hampshire’s independent streak.”
“With a favorable trendline in voter registration, broad support for Republicans’ working-class economic agenda, and a candidate who can unite the party and win independents, New Hampshire is officially in play,” according to the memo.
One person the memo does not mention: President Donald Trump. “And it remains to be seen how Sununu would navigate an endorsement, if it comes, in a state that leans Democratic,” the Examiner reported.
Meanwhile, Brown’s team warns that early polls showing Sununu ahead may reflect confusion with his more famous brother, Chris Sununu, who left office in January after four terms as governor. “Chris was the Sununu Washington always wanted,” the memo says. “John was the consolation prize.”
The memo closes with a familiar refrain: work ethic and grassroots hustle.
“Parades, Old Home Days, GOP meetings, cookouts — you name it,” McEleney wrote. “Unlike a lot of candidates, Brown actually enjoys campaigning.”
“The noise from Washington will be loud,” McEleney added, “but the will of New Hampshire voters is always much stronger.”
