Republicans are desperate for Governor Chris Sununu to run for the Senate. What is stopping him?

[ad_1]

Trump, the wild card

Sununus ambivalence about the Senate race shines specifically on the subject of Trump.

He said he voted for Trump twice. He also reprimanded him occasionally, including the last fall, after Trump refused to judge white supremacists in a presidential debate. Sununu was quick to acknowledge President Joe Bidens ’victory last year and criticized Trump’s efforts to pressure officials in other states to overturn the election results in his favor.

Trump, who lost to New Hampshire by 7 points in 2020, rarely came while Sununu worked around the Lakes Region. But in the national conversation about GOP politics and the 2022 Senate career, Trump remains an unstoppable force.

I think you can go to governors across the country that they have all chosen a path that they think is right for them in their state, said John E. Sununu, the governors ’older brother, who represents New Hampshire. as a senator and congressman. Whether you’re running for the House or Senate, you’re dealing with national issues shaped by rhetoric and policies that originated in Washington. And that’s different. A bit harder to control.

Don Bolduc, a retired Army general who lost the Republican Senate premiere last year, is already running for the Hassans seat. He partially acknowledged the Sununus landslide and Trump’s loss to the state over unproven claims of machine voting errors. He runs as an unstable Trump supporter.

My advice to them, Bolduc said of national Republicans working for Sununu, is to stay out of New Hampshire.

At the moment, Trump is one of the few following that advice. Unlike in other states where he has vowed to take revenge on Republicans who refuse to maintain his baseless claim of a stolen election, he has shown no interest in intimidating Sununu. A well -known ally of Trump, Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, publicly urged Sununu to challenge Hassan. Sununu said he had not heard from Trump directly but he did not expect the former president to cause him problems.

We always have, I think, a very good understanding, Sununu said. I never surprised him anything.

As he digs into a plate of pulled pork and potato salad at Rubbin Butts BBQ in Center Harbor, Sununu laments how Trump has inspired candidates and conspiracy theorists who care more about shouting at Fox News than advancing the conservative idea that previously defined the party. He thought about how he could lift the discourse.

If there’s a path to make it stronger and more national, well, maybe there’s some value there, he said.

[ad_2]