Gov. Chris Sununu is finishing up his fourth and final term as governor, and he wants to hand the keys to the Corner Office to Kelly Ayotte.
Sununu endorsed the former U.S. Sen. on Wednesday, calling her “the Republican who will win in November and hit the ground running in January.
“Count me in as an enthusiastic supporter of Kelly Ayotte for governor!”
Ayotte thanked Sununu for his support.
“I’m proud to have Gov. Sununu’s endorsement, and I look forward to working with him to spread our message of keeping our state safe, prosperous, and free to voters across our great state. Under Gov. Sununu’s leadership, New Hampshire is the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family, and when I’m governor, I will work tirelessly to keep us moving in the right direction,” Ayotte said.
Ayotte and Sununu are scheduled to campaign across New Hampshire as part of a “Super 603 Day” to promote her candidacy.
“Kelly understands that with strong fiscal responsibility, limited government, and local control, New Hampshire has set the Gold Standard for the rest of the country to follow,” Sununu said.
The news is a blow to the political hopes of longtime Sununu ally Chuck Morse, who’s also seeking the GOP nomination for governor. As state Senate president, Morse was Sununu’s legislative partner. The two worked together to pass significant legislation, including the historic 2021 budget deal that phased out the state’s interest and dividends tax, launched the Education Freedom Accounts program, and ended late-term abortion in the state.
Morse didn’t hold back in his response, calling the endorsement “comical” and accusing Sununu of “throwing conservatives under the bus.”
“Gov. Chris Sununu’s endorsement of Kelly Ayotte – referencing many of the achievements I led on – is comical and comes as little surprise to those familiar with their shared political stances,” Morse said.
“Chris Sununu and I disagreed when he shut down our state and forced Granite State kids to wear masks. We disagreed when he attacked President Trump and threw conservatives under the bus just like Kelly did in 2016. And both Sununu and Ayotte have refused to protect women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and private spaces from men.”
“We disagree today as to who should be the next governor. I’d take my track record of ideas, views, and accomplishments over Chris Sununu’s any day.”
Pointing out Sununu’s well-known criticism of Trump isn’t a coincidence. As soon as his Ayotte endorsement was announced, the eyes of New Hampshire GOP insiders turned to Mar-A-Lago. Morse has been an outspoken Trump supporter, endorsing his 2024 First in the Nation primary bid at a UNH Trump rally in December. Ayotte withheld her endorsement until after Trump had become the party’s de facto nominee.
But insiders say it’s unlikely Trump will endorse in the primary.
“He’s got his own problems,” one veteran GOP campaign operative said.
Ayotte and Morse are both popular inside the state GOP, and most Republicans contacted by NHJournal for reaction to the endorsement were unwilling to speak on the record.
“They’re both still friends,” one GOP source said of Sununu and Morse. “This is just politics.”
But Bruce Breton, an early and active Trump supporter whose also on board with Ayotte, pushed right back against Morse.
“Someone should wake Chuck up and let him know his crazy team sent out that statement — because that certainly isn’t Chuck Morse,” Breton said. “This charade isn’t fooling anyone. I’m old enough to remember Chuck endorsing Jeb Bush in 2016 and coming around to Trump in a desperate play to save his losing campaign. It’s a sad day, and year, to be Chuck Morse.”
Morse supporter Sen. Regina Birdsell (R- Hampstead) had a different view.
“Governor Sununu’s endorsement of Kelly Ayotte is not just disappointing—it is a disservice to New Hampshire. By overlooking the unparalleled contributions of our longest-serving Senate President, Chuck Morse, Governor Sununu is disregarding the true champion of our state’s progress!”
So what does Sununu’s endorsement mean?
Neil Levesque, director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, told NHJournal, “Our data has shown that Governor Sununu is the most popular elected official in the state so he has a powerful ability to share his choice of a successor and persuade voters. I would also suspect it is personal.
“As Governor, you work so hard to build successes, and you want to pass that on to who you believe is the right person,” Levesque said.
Not that Sununu’s endorsement is a guarantee of success in GOP primaries. The governor endorsed Nikki Haley in the 2024 First in the Nation primary, and Mayor George Hansel in the 2022 Second Congressional District race — as well as Morse in his U.S. Senate primary that year. All went down to defeat.
