The headline did not mince words. “Donald Trump is a loser,” read the title of the opinion piece, which ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader one day before the 2024 New Hampshire presidential primary.
The man who wrote it, former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, is no stranger to opposing Trump.
In 2016, Sununu, the brother of former Gov. Chris Sununu, endorsed former Ohio Gov. John Kasich for president. And in 2024, he backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in her effort to block Trump’s path back to the White House.
This year, Trump is president, and Sununu is exploring another run for U.S. Senate. And he is shrugging off the importance of Trump.
“Look, this is going to be about New Hampshire,” he said in an interview with WMUR Wednesday confirming that exploration. “New Hampshire voters, New Hampshire values. Putting together a strong campaign.”
Sununu has personal experience with the Senate seat; he defeated current-Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 2002 and held the seat for one term before Shaheen ousted him in 2008. Shaheen has kept the seat since; Sununu has worked as a board member and policy adviser for banks and lobbying firms in the meantime.
But as Sununu contemplates an entry into the race, Trump’s potential influence looms large — and two of Sununu’s would-be primary rivals are actively vying for the president’s support.
Trump has not made an endorsement, which lands in an election year where Republicans hold a bare majority and are looking for any opportunity to flip a Democrat-held seat and expand control.
Competing for Trump’s eye
Republican candidate Scott Brown, the former Massachusetts senator, has sought to align himself with Trump’s agenda this year, praising Trump for policies on border enforcement and trade.
That bond has some history: In Trump’s first term, the president appointed Brown as ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
But Brown also sharply criticized Trump in May 2021 for his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection, saying that Trump “absolutely” bears responsibility for the riots and that “his presidency was diminished” because of them.
State Sen. Dan Innis, another candidate in the race, has centered his campaign around the contention he is the most pro-Trump person in the running.
On Wednesday, he reiterated that contention.
“Let’s be honest, there are bad eggs in this race,” Innis said in a statement Wednesday afternoon touting a recent drop in egg prices. “I’m the only pro-Trump conservative in this race, and I’ll never back down.”
Representatives for Brown and Innis did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday about the possibility of Sununu entering the race.
The candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for the Senate seat currently held by Shaheen, who is not running for reelection. U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas and Karishma Manzur are both competing for the Democratic nomination.
In a statement Wednesday, Pappas called Sununu a “corporate sellout” and charged Republicans with starting a “scramble to find Donald Trump’s perfect candidate.”
State Republicans see game-changer
While his potential rivals are positioning themselves for a Trump endorsement, Sununu did not appear to be in a hurry Wednesday. He told WMUR he would be conducting listening sessions around the state to gauge support for his potential candidacy. And he said he hopes to receive endorsements from a broad array of people, not just Trump.
To some state Republicans, Sununu could be a formidable challenger in the race, even with his comments about Trump.
Responding to Sununu’s announcement, House Majority Leader Jason Osborne posted on X: “This would change the whole game.” Matt Mowers, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Pappas in 2020 and 2022, also called a possible Sununu entry a “game changer,” writing that “John Sununu puts the race on the map and starts as immediate front runner.”
Lou Gargiulo, a former Republican state representative, is a longtime supporter of Trump, serving as a state co-chair of the Trump campaign in 2016 and 2020.
But Gargiulo has been an advocate for John E. Sununu for even longer, supporting his campaigns in 2002 and 2008. And on Wednesday, he argued that Sununu’s past opposition to Trump would not necessarily limit his prospects.
“He’s a fiscal conservative, I think he’s socially conservative, I think he’s good on the Second Amendment, I think he’s good on taxation — I think … that the base would be happy to see a guy like him in the race,” he said in an interview.
Gargiulo has not made up his mind on the GOP primary, he said.
But the most important factor for Sununu, Gargiulo argues, is not Trump, but Sununu’s viability as a candidate and ability to raise money. Against the financial advantages held by Pappas, that will matter most, he said.
Still, Sununu’s Trump positions could create some headaches, Gargiulo conceded. His advice: Sununu should reach out to the president and make his case.
Trump could also choose to be pragmatic, he added.
“It depends on who talks to the president about him,” Gargiulo said. “I think at this point, we want to pick up some Senate seats. And if he could deliver a Senate seat, then I think the president will be somewhat forgiving.”
A family history
Kathy Sullivan, who served as New Hampshire Democratic Party chairwoman during Sununu’s campaign for Senate in 2002, also doubts that Sununu’s anti-Trump positions will hold him back, at least not if he is seen as a front-runner. If that happens, his past statements won’t matter, she argued.
“As long as John E. Sununu is a member of the Republican Party, he’s a Trumpist,” Sullivan said.
Even if Sununu avoids talking about Trump, Sullivan argued he will run the risk of either being seen as not loyal enough by Trump’s base or lumped in with the president by independent voters.
“I don’t think he can hide from Trump,” she said. “He may say a thing here and a thing there to try to separate himself from Trump, but that’s not going to be much and it’s not going to help him.”
To Dante Scala, professor of political science and international affairs at the University of New Hampshire, John E. Sununu’s predicament with Trump is a familiar one for his family. As governor, Chris Sununu perfected the art of accepting Trump while leaving room for sporadic moments of disagreement.
“The Sununus never seemed content with that, with toeing the line,” he said. “Even when they bent the knee to Trump, they never wanted to come off as such, as just kind of Trump clones.”
But John E. Sununu is running for U.S. Senate, a body much more tied to the politics of the White House than the governor’s office, Scala noted. That affords him less cover to pledge neutrality or avoid conflict, he said.
It means Sununu will need to proactively define himself and his vision for Republican politics, Scala said — especially because his term, should he win, would extend beyond Trump’s final year in office.
“Chris Sununu really wanted to move his party beyond Donald Trump. He failed, but he did have that ambition. He probably still does,” Scala said.
“I wonder what kind of ambition John Sununu has, in terms of the direction of his party?”
On Wednesday, speaking to WMUR, Sununu said the state needed someone who had its values, “that’s not going to vote a party line, that’s willing to take risks and get things done.”
As for Trump?
“I would want to win support, if I were to run, across the entire spectrum, and obviously that includes the president,” he said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”