It’s not the Chris Sununu star turn the National Republican Senatorial Committee was hoping for.
Just a few weeks ago, the former New Hampshire governor was receiving a public endorsement from President Donald Trump, and the NRSC was looking to flip the seat being vacated by the retirement of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
Instead, Sununu passed on a 2026 run, leaving the seat with a “Likely Democrat” ranking.
Now, Sununu’s comments about the Trump economy and the midterms are being featured in a video released by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). They are putting Sununu’s statement on a mobile billboard that will be circling the NRSC headquarters, Punchbowl reports.
During an interview on the Jack Heath radio show, Sununu was asked if falling 401(k) accounts will hurt GOP prospects in the 2026 midterms.
“Probably,” Sununu answered. “Yes. It’s going to make it harder.”
Punchbowl reports, “The DSCC is sending a mobile billboard to circle NRSC headquarters and troll the Senate GOP campaign arm for tying itself to President Donald Trump’s economic agenda.”
Veteran New Hampshire Republican strategist Michael Dennehy is unimpressed by the DSCC’s efforts.
“So let me get this straight: The Democrats are spending other people’s money attacking Trump in front of the Republican headquarters in DC? And they wonder why they got crushed in last year’s elections?”
Trump has never carried New Hampshire in a general election, but he’s dominated the state’s GOP politics since his 2016 victory in the First in the Nation presidential primary. He came within three points of defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in November, but his polls have been sliding steadily in New Hampshire since January.
The latest RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump is underwater nationwide, 45 approve and 51 disapprove. A recent University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll puts the president underwater in the Granite State, 47 to 53 percent, but even more concerning is a 44 to 55 percent negative view of Trump’s handling of the economy.
That hasn’t ended GOP hopes of running a competitive race in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, however. Punchbowl published a memo from the National Republican Congressional Committee arguing that, regardless of Sununu’s concerns, the climate for the GOP holding the House of Representatives is better than it was in 2017.
The memo features polling data from 46 potentially competitive congressional districts, including NH-01.
According to the memo, the generic ballot is currently D +1, which is historically a good number for Republicans and much better than the D+6 at this point in the 2018 cycle. That year, Democrats had a net pickup of 41 seats and took control of the House.
Also good news, the NRCC says, is the Democrats’ bad news. As much as Republicans have struggled in recent weeks, “The Democrat Party’s image is in free-fall, falling underwater by nearly 50 points (25% favorable/72% unfavorable), as voters overwhelmingly reject their extreme and out of touch agenda,” according to the memo.
And Republicans are tied with Democrats on the key question of which party “cares about people like me,” where the GOP trailed by 13 points two years ago.
“The battle for the majority will be hard-fought across individual battleground districts, but House Republicans are well-prepared, well-resourced, and on a clear path to not only retain the majority but grow it in 2026 as we continue delivering on the America First agenda,” the NRCC says.
