EXCLUSIVE: NEWFIELDS, N.H. — Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu says he’s holding a dialogue with national Republican leaders about potentially running next year in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
Sununu, who enjoys a large national profile thanks to his regular appearances the past few years on the cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that he aims to make a decision regarding a 2026 campaign in the “next few weeks.”
The former governor, who for a couple of years was a vocal Republican critic of President Donald Trump, said, “I have no doubt I’d have the president’s support,” if he decides to make a bid for the Senate.
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Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire is interviewed by Fox News Digital on his final full day in office on Jan. 8, 2025, at the State House in Concord. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
And Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to four straight two-year terms as governor of the key New England swing state, touted that “I have no doubt I can win.”
The 78-year-old Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history to win election as governor and as a U.S. senator, announced this week that she would retire at the end of next year rather than seek a fourth six-year term in the Senate.
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Even before Shaheen’s announcement, her seat in swing state New Hampshire was considered one of the GOP’s top pickup opportunities in the 2026 midterms – along with Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters is also retiring, and Georgia, where Republicans consider first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff vulnerable – as Republicans hope to expand their current 53-47 majority.
Longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire announced she won’t seek re-election in the 2026 midterms. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Sununu’s…
