Former Gov. Chris Sununu isn’t closing the door on running for the Senate in New Hampshire, which would make him a powerful contender for the GOP nomination and force Democrats to use more resources to defend the seat.
“I have not ruled it out completely, but folks in Washington have asked me to think about it and to consider it, and that is just kind of where I am,” Mr. Sununu told The Washington Times on Tuesday.
After previously rejecting the idea, Mr. Sununu, who was governor of New Hampshire from 2017 to 2025, said he is listening to the Washington Republicans urging him to run. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, holds the seat and is up for reelection next year.
Mr. Sununu said President Trump’s focus on making the federal government more efficient and accountable to taxpayers has forced him to at least give it more thought.
“That makes me think, OK, maybe things are changing,” he said. “Maybe there’s a path here.”
Mr. Sununu would give Republicans a prize recruit against Ms. Shaheen, considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection.
He is the scion of the state’s most prominent political dynasty. His father, John H. Sununu, served as governor and White House chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush, and his brother, John E. Sununu, served in the House and Senate before losing his seat in 2008 to Ms. Shaheen.
Mr. Sununu’s fiscal conservatism and social moderation brand has been a good fit for New Hampshire. He left office as one of the nation’s most popular governors.
However, Mr. Sununu has struggled to find his place in a Trump-ruled Republican Party where the boss demands loyalty and prides himself on knocking down his critics.
He toyed with a 2024 presidential bid, but concluded he did not have a path to the nomination and feared his candidacy could make it easier for Mr. Trump to win it.
Mr. Sununu, nonetheless, voted for Mr. Trump. As a CNN commentator, Mr. Sununu has defended the president’s actions and praised his efforts to scale back the federal government.
Former Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who lost his bid for the New Hampshire Senate in 2014, is also considered a run for the Republican nomination.
A recent New Hampshire Journal survey found Mr. Sununu offers the party the best chance of ousting Ms. Shaheen in a general election matchup.
Mr. Sununu bests Ms. Shaheen 54.4% to 45.6% among registered voters. Ms. Shaheen holds a 55.1% to 44.9% lead over Mr. Brown.
“Anytime a senator is losing by 10 points to someone in any poll that tells you that they can be beaten and not just by one person,” Mr. Sununu said. “She is very vulnerable and very beatable and the people of New Hampshire are tired of the fact that nothing is being delivered.”
The Cook Political Report rates the race as “lean” Democrat.
