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President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed former Sen. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire, a longtime GOP Trump critic, over one among his first-term ambassadors, former Sen. Scott Brown, in an important Senate race that is one among a handful that will decide the Senate majority in the midterm elections.
Sununu, who was praised by Trump as an “America First Patriot” who “will work tirelessly to advance our America First Agenda,” is seen by high Senate Republicans because the strongest candidate to flip the seat held by longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who’s retiring on the finish of this 12 months fairly than search re-election to a fourth six-year time period.
“John E. Sununu has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN — ELECT JOHN E. SUNUNU,” Trump emphasised, in a put up on social media.
Sununu is a former three-term consultant who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire’s 2002 Senate election. But the senator misplaced to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch.
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Former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on Sept.15, 2025 in Rye, N.H. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)
“I want to thank the President for his support and thank the thousands of Granite Staters who are supporting me,” Sununu mentioned after touchdown Trump’s endorsement.
The endorsement will additional enhance Sununu, who enjoys a polling and fundraising benefit over Brown.
After Trump’s endorsement, the Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, mentioned on X that “John Sununu is the clear choice to be New Hampshire’s next US Senator, and President Trump’s critical endorsement has put an end to the primary.”
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But Brown, as of now, has no intentions of dropping out.
“I’ve always believed that the people of New Hampshire are the ultimate authority on our future, and they deserve a choice between candidates seeking to earn their support,” he mentioned in a press release.
And apparently questioning Sununu’s MAGA credentials, he added, “I am running to ensure our America First agenda is led by someone who views this mission not as a career path, but as a continuation of a lifelong commitment to service.”
Former Sen. Scott Brown, who launched a Republican Senate marketing campaign in New Hampshire in June, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on July 4, 2025, in Exeter, N.H. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News )
Brown emphasised, “My priorities for New Hampshire remain clear: a stronger economy, a secure border, reliable and affordable energy and better health care for our veterans. This mission has always been about you, not me. Let’s keep working!”
Sununu is a model identify in New Hampshire politics. His father, John H. Sununu, is a former governor who later served as chief of workers in then-President George H.W. Bush’s White House. And one among his youthful brothers is former Gov. Chris Sununu, who received election and re-election to 4 two-year phrases steering the Granite State.
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But Sununu has an extended historical past of backing Trump rivals. He served as nationwide co-chair on the 2016 Republican presidential marketing campaign of then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who declined to help Trump because the social gathering’s nominee.
And Sununu, together with then-Gov. Chris Sununu, endorsed former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican presidential main, as she battled Trump for the nomination.
And on the eve of the first-in-the-nation presidential main, the former senator wrote an opinion piece titled “Donald Trump is a loser,” that ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state’s largest every day newspaper.
Brown endorsed Trump forward of his 2016 New Hampshire main victory, which launched him towards the GOP presidential nomination and finally the White House. Brown later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand throughout Trump’s first time period.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, seen talking at a press convention in Washington, DC on November 9, 2025, is retiring on the finish of this 12 months. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu by way of Getty Images)
Some in New Hampshire’s MAGA base instantly rejected the president’s endorsement of Sununu, calling it a “slap in the face to grassroots supporters” who’ve lengthy backed Trump.
“The Sununu family openly mocked, degraded, and worked against the America First movement, the President himself, and the policies that energized New Hampshire voters,” a gaggle of MAGA activists posted on X. “We will continue and intensify our campaign opposition to the Sununu operation.”
Brown formally launched his Senate marketing campaign in June, after over six months of reaching out to grassroots supporters in the state. He raised roughly $1 million throughout his first three months as a candidate.
Sununu jumped into the race in late October, with the backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is the Senate GOP’s marketing campaign arm.
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NRSC chair Sen. Tim Scott mentioned on the time that Senate Republicans have been “all-in” for Sununu.
Since then, Sununu has landed the backing of a majority of the Republicans in the Senate, in addition to from GOP leaders in New Hampshire.
The seat in New Hampshire, together with an open Democrat-held seat in Michigan are two of the NRSC’s high targets this 12 months as they purpose to increase their 53-47 majority in the chamber. Georgia, the place the GOP views Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff as very susceptible, is the NRSC’s different high goal.
Sununu greater than doubled Brown’s fundraising haul through the previous three months, and the most recent public opinion polls in New Hampshire point out Sununu with a double-digit lead over Brown in the GOP main, which will not be held till September.
Democratic Senate candidate in New Hampshire, Rep. Chris Pappas, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on July 4, 2025, in Portsmouth, N.H. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)
Pappas, a four-term congressman who represents the japanese half of the state, outraised each Sununu and Brown mixed through the 4th quarter of 2025 fundraising.
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And the most recent polls point out Pappas topping Sununu by single digits and Brown by double digits in hypothetical common election matchups.
Pappas is the clear front-runner for his social gathering’s nomination, in a race that additionally consists of Karishma Manzur, a member of the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s guidelines committee.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter primarily based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the marketing campaign path from coast to coast.”
