Republican former Sen. John Sununu announced his campaign for New Hampshire’s Senate seat this morning, jumping into a competitive primary ahead of an open battleground race next November.
Sununu, who served the Granite State in the Senate until he lost a re-election bid to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., in 2008, said in an announcement video, “I'd be honored to have your support and return to the Senate to help calm the waters."
In his announcement video, Sununu emphasized working with people who disagreed with each other, criticizing Congress now as "loud, dysfunctional, even angry."
"But Granite Staters still talk," he said. "We don't always agree, but we respect one another and work together for the common good. That's the New Hampshire way."
Sununu said he was "a bit surprised" to find himself running for Senate again, asking, "Why would anyone subject themselves to everything going on there right now?"
"Somebody has to step up and lower the temperature," he said. "Somebody has to get things done."
Shaheen announced this year that she would not seek re-election next year.
GOP former Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts jumped into the race in June, becoming the first major Republican candidate to launch a campaign for the seat.
Rep. Chris Pappas is running for the Democratic nomination and faces progressive activist Karishma Manzur.
Rachel Petri, Pappas' campaign manager, hit back on Sununu's bid, painting the Republican as "making millions selling out to corporations and working for special interests."
"Chris Pappas will stand up to corporate special interests and take on anyone to do what is best for New Hampshire, and that’s why Granite Staters will elect him to the U.S. Senate next November," she said in a statement.
Across the aisle, the Senate Leadership Fund, which works to expand the GOP Senate majority, characterized Pappas as continuing "to serve Washington’s Democrat party bosses."
"John E. Sununu is a respected leader and a trusted voice for New Hampshire whose candidacy instantly expands the Senate map and puts the Granite State in play for Republicans," the fund said in a statement.
A Republican National Committee spokesperson, Kristen Cianci, said the "formidable Republican field" would make for a competitive race.
"This combined with Chris Pappas’s weak candidacy and far-Left history should have everyone taking a second look at this race," Cianci said.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, threw its support behind Sununu shortly after his announcement. Scott declared in a post to X that "The @NRSC is all-in" for the former senator.
The Granite State Senate seat is considered competitive, and it is rated “Lean Democrat” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. While Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan won her campaign for re-election in the state by more than 9 percentage points in 2022, just two years later GOP Gov. Kelly Ayotte won her statewide race for governor, beating Democratic nominee Joyce Craig by a similar margin.
Sununu floated a run for Senate earlier this year, telling ABC affiliate WMUR last month that, “I’m going to seriously consider a run,” adding he would make a final decision by the end of this month.
Sununu’s name is well-known throughout New Hampshire, not just for his own service in Congress, but also because of his brother, former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who served as governor for eight years before passing the torch to Ayotte last year. The former governor said this year that he wouldn’t run for the open Senate seat.
