Sununu Reconsiders Senate Run in New Hampshire, Citing Shifting Political Landscape
NEWFIELDS, N.H. – Former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is actively engaged in discussions with prominent figures within the Republican Party regarding a potential bid for the U.S. Senate in 2026. The seat is opening up with the impending retirement of long-serving Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
Sununu, who cultivated a significant national profile through frequent appearances on cable news networks and Sunday talk shows during his tenure as governor, revealed in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that he intends to make a decision about a 2026 Senate campaign within the coming weeks.
Notably, Sununu, who at times was a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, expressed confidence that he would have the former president’s support should he decide to enter the Senate race.
"I have no doubt I’d have the president’s support," Sununu asserted, signaling a potential shift in their relationship and a unified front within the Republican Party.
Shaheen, 78, who holds the distinction of being the first woman in U.S. history to be elected as both a governor and a U.S. senator, announced her retirement earlier this week, opting not to seek a fourth six-year term.
Shaheen’s decision has immediately transformed the New Hampshire Senate seat into a prime target for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections. Even before Shaheen’s announcement, political analysts considered the seat a potential pickup opportunity for the GOP. Other states where Republican leadership is looking for pick ups are Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters is also retiring, and Georgia, where Republicans consider first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff vulnerable. Republicans are aiming to expand their current 53-47 Senate majority.
Sununu’s recent comments represent a notable shift from his stance last year, when he repeatedly stated that he would not run for the Senate in 2026.
In a November interview with Fox News Digital, Sununu, who was then still governor, reiterated his previous statements from July.
"Definitely ruling out running for the Senate in 2026. Yeah, definitely not on my dance card," Sununu said during an interview at the Republican Governors Association winter meeting in Florida.
When questioned about a potential 2026 Senate run again in early January, on his last full day in office, the 50-year-old Sununu responded, "I’m not planning on running for anything right now. I’m really not, at least for the next two, four, six years. Who knows what happens down the road? But it would be way down the road and nothing, nothing I’m planning on, nothing my family would tolerate either short term."
Despite his previous pronouncements, Sununu revealed in his recent interview with Fox Digital that "some folks in New Hampshire, some folks in Washington, have asked me to really take a few weeks and think about it at this point."
"The door’s open," he conceded, before adding, "It’s not open a lot, to be honest."
Among those with whom Sununu is consulting is Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who serves as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.
"Tim is a great friend. We’ve talked a lot, not just about me running, but other opportunities," Sununu said, describing their discussions as "an ongoing discussion."
Sources indicate that Sununu is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., in the coming days for a dinner with Scott and other Senate Republicans.
Sununu previously considered running for the Senate in 2022 against his predecessor as governor, Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election that year. National Republicans heavily courted him to challenge Hassan.
However, on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead seek a fourth term as governor, much to the disappointment of many Republicans in the nation’s capital.
At the time, Sununu expressed criticism of the Senate, stating, "When you look at what their (senators) job is and what a governor’s job is… it’s not even close. I can’t tell you how many senators told me, ‘You’re just going to have to wait around a couple of years to get anything done.’ Can you imagine me sitting around a couple of years?"
"They debate and talk, and nothing gets done… That’s not the world I live in," Sununu added.
When asked if his opinion of the Senate had changed, Sununu responded, "Not really, no… I think Washington has been really stagnated. Hasn’t done a whole lot, doesn’t deliver."
However, Sununu pointed to a "fundamental change in the past two months" with Trump back in the White House, noting that Congress is now "talking about things that I care very passionately about." These issues include a balanced budget and government efficiency.
"Whether you like them or not, you got to give credit to Trump, to DOGE, to folks driving this conversation, this narrative. We have $36 trillion in debt. It’s a very real number. You owe it. I owe it. Your viewers owe that money, not the government. We’re going to have a car crash in the next couple of years with Social Security going bankrupt, Medicare going bankrupt, more debt on the books. So, there has to be a plan and a strategy out of this, and the administration is really leading that effort," Sununu argued.
"That gives me hope that… maybe there is an opportunity to have a leadership role in something that is very critical and vital to the country, something I believe very passionately in, and something we’ve been very successful with here in New Hampshire," he added.
Following Trump’s first term in the White House and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Sununu became a vocal critic of the former president.
Sununu was a prominent supporter of former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Trump’s final challenger in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries. However, he ultimately endorsed the Republican nominee in the general election.
When asked about his relationship with Trump, Sununu said that he has "a very good relationship at this point."
Sununu is not the only Republican considering a Senate bid in New Hampshire.
Former Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who narrowly lost to Shaheen in New Hampshire in the 2014 election, is also seriously contemplating a 2026 run.
Brown, who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first administration, has been meeting with Republicans across New Hampshire for several months and has met multiple times with GOP officials in Washington, D.C.
Brown recently met with top Trump administration political officials at the White House.
Brown, who told Fox News Digital late last year that he was seriously considering a Senate run, criticized New Hampshire Democrats, arguing that "they’re just completely out of touch with what we want here in New Hampshire. And the more I think about it, I think we can do better."
Sununu believes that Shaheen’s decision not to seek re-election creates an opportunity for Republicans to flip the seat.
"It’s an open seat. It’s up for play. Republicans have been successful in some statewide races here recently," he said.
Sununu added that "there is an opportunity" for himself, Scott Brown, or another Republican candidate to "win the seat."
Sununu stated that whether it is for himself, Brown, or another candidate, he has been "trying to talk to the folks in Washington, help them understand what New Hampshire is about, how to win here, how to be successful, how to find and kind of cultivate the right candidates."
