Top Republicans court another Sununu for crucial New Hampshire Senate race

There’s a Sununu in New Hampshire who is considering a run for the Senate in next year’s midterm elections.

But it isn’t former Gov. Chris Sununu, who earlier this year considered but decided against launching a bid in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in the key New England swing state.

It’s former Sen. John E. Sununu, one of Chris Sununu’s older brothers.

Top national Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have held conversations with the former senator regarding a 2026 Senate campaign, a source told Fox News on Wednesday. 

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A source familiar with the conversations confirmed to Fox News that Thune and former Sen. Cory Gardner, chair of the Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans, recently spoke with Sununu.

The source added that Thune and Gardner are cautiously optimistic that Sununu will launch a campaign, in a race that’s expected to be competitive and expensive.

Sununu, a former three-term representative, defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire’s 2002 Senate election. But the senator lost to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch. 

Shaheen announced earlier this year that she wouldn’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms, and Republicans are hoping to flip the seat as they aim to not only defend but expand their Senate majority.

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Word that Sununu, who turns 61 this month, was mulling a Senate bid was first reported by NOTUS.

There are currently two major Republicans in New Hampshire’s Senate race.

Former Sen. Scott Brown, who served as ambassador to New Zealand during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, announced his candidacy in June. 

Ahead of his campaign launch, Brown had been crisscrossing New Hampshire since late last year, meeting with Republican and conservative groups.

Former Sen. Scott Brown, who is running for the 2026 Republican Senate nomination in New Hampshire, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on July 4, 2025 in Exeter, N.H. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

A month later, in July, three-term GOP state Sen. Dan Innis launched a U.S. Senate campaign.

Trump, whose endorsement in Republican primaries is extremely influential, has remained neutral to date. 

Veteran Republican strategist John Ashbrook, a co-host of the popular “Ruthless” podcast, told Fox News Digital that “the more candidates getting into these races is an indicator that Republicans are on offense heading into an all-important midterm and that Trump’s great success in the White House is actually wind in their sails as they pursue an effort to maintain the majority, that they should be able to maintain with good candidates on the field.”

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Four-term Rep. Chris Pappas, who represents the state’s First Congressional District, is the clear frontrunner for the Democratic Party’s Senate nomination.

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)

But progressive organizer and biomedical scientist Karishma Manzur is also running for the Democratic nomination.

Senate Republicans enjoyed a favorable map in the 2024 cycle as they flipped four seats from blue to red to win back the majority.

But the party in power – the Republicans – traditionally faces political headwinds in the midterm elections. Nevertheless, a current read of the 2026 map indicates the GOP may be able to go on offense in some key states.

In battleground Georgia, which Trump narrowly carried in last year’s White House race, Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat incumbent up for re-election next year.

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They’re also targeting battleground Michigan, where Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring at the end of next year, as well as New Hampshire.

Also on the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) target list is blue-leaning Minnesota, where Democratic Sen. Tina Smith isn’t running for re-election.

But the GOP is defending an open seat in battleground North Carolina, where Republican Sen. Thom Tills decided against seeking re-election.

Republicans are also defending an open seat in red-leaning Iowa, after Sen. Joni Ernst’s announcement on Tuesday that she won’t seek re-election next year.

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And Republicans will likely be forced to spend resources to defend Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio – who was appointed to succeed former senator and now-Vice President JD Vance – as he faces off next year against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Meanwhile, Democrats are also targeting moderate Sen. Susan Collins – who has yet to announce her expected 2026 re-election – in blue-leaning Maine.