Trump, the wild card
Sununu’s ambivalence about the Senate race shines particularly on the topic of Trump.
He has said he voted for Trump twice. He also has rebuked him on occasion, including last fall, after Trump declined to condemn white supremacists at a presidential debate. Sununu quickly acknowledged President Joe Biden’s victory last year and criticized Trump’s efforts to pressure officials in other states to subvert the election results in his favor.
Trump, who lost New Hampshire by 7 points in 2020, rarely came up as Sununu worked his way around the Lakes Region. But in the national conversation surrounding GOP politics and 2022 Senate races, Trump remains the irresistible force.
“I think you can go to governors all across the country — they’ve all chosen a path that they feel is right for them in their state,” said John E. Sununu, the governor’s older brother, who represented New Hampshire as a senator and congressman. “If you’re running for the House or the Senate, you’re dealing with national issues that are shaped by rhetoric and policies that emanate from Washington. And that’s different. It’s a little harder to control.”
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Don Bolduc, a retired Army general who lost a Republican Senate primary last year, is already running for Hassan’s seat. He partially attributes Sununu’s landslide and Trump’s loss in the state to unsubstantiated claims of voting machine errors. He’s running as an unwavering Trump supporter.
“My advice to them,” Bolduc said of national Republicans clamoring for Sununu, “is to stay out of New Hampshire.”
For the moment, Trump is one of the few following that advice. Unlike in other states where he has vowed to exact revenge on Republicans who refuse to perpetuate his baseless claims of a stolen election, he has shown no interest in scaring away Sununu. One prominent Trump ally, Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, has publicly encouraged Sununu to challenge Hassan. Sununu said he hasn’t heard from Trump directly but does not expect the former president to cause him problems.
“We always had, I think, a very good understanding,” Sununu said. “I never surprised him with anything.”
As he dug into a plate of pulled pork and potato salad at Rubbin’ Butts BBQ in Center Harbor, Sununu lamented how Trump has inspired candidates and conspiracy theorists who care more about yelling on Fox News than advancing conservative ideas that once defined the party. He has thought about how he might elevate the discourse.
“If there’s a pathway to make that louder and more national, well, maybe there’s some value there,” he said.