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FILE – U.S. Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., left, spars with Democratic rival and former governor Jeanne Shaheen during a live televised debate in Manchester, N.H., Oct. 30, 2008.

AP Photo/POOL/David Lane, File

Ex-US Sen. John E. Sununu enters GOP primary race in New Hampshire for the seat he lost in 2008

By The Canadian Press

Published 12:13 PDT, Wed October 22, 2025

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Republican John E. Sununu announced a campaign for U.S. Senate on Wednesday, hoping to reclaim a seat he lost nearly two decades ago and boosting the GOP’s chances of regaining a foothold in a region overwhelmingly represented by Democrats.

Sununu, 61, is seeking the Republican nomination for the seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat who ousted him in 2008. His decision sets up a primary featuring two former senators: Republican Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts before moving to New Hampshire and losing to Shaheen in 2014, has been running since June.

“Maybe you're surprised to hear that I'm running for the Senate again. I'm a bit surprised myself,” Sununu said in a video announcement. “Why would anyone subject themselves to everything going on there right now? Well, somebody has to step up and lower the temperature. Somebody has to get things done.”

National Republicans consider Sununu a strong candidate and one who allows them to go on the offensive as they look to hold their majority in the chamber next year.

In statements, the Republican National Committee said Sununu's entrance creates “a formidable Republican field poised to make this seat competitive in 2026.” The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, said they were “excited” about Sununu's bid and that it “expands the Senate map and puts the Granite State in play for Republicans.”

Senate Republicans, who hold a 53-47 advantage, are defending seats in Ohio, Maine and North Carolina against a slate of high-profile Democratic candidates. But Republicans are also on the offensive in places like Michigan, Georgia and now, increasingly, New Hampshire — and if they flip one of those seats it will likely put the chamber out of reach for Democrats until at least 2028.

Sununu must first win the primary though, and his past opposition to President Donald Trump could be problematic. While Brown has aligned himself closely with Trump and served as his U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, Sununu backed Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, writing an op-ed calling Trump a “loser.”

Trump went on to win New Hampshire’s leadoff primary, but the state’s voters rejected him for a third time in the general election. And while Republicans control the Statehouse and governor’s office, Democrats have held all four of New Hampshire’s congressional seats since 2017.

Sununu has been in contact with the White House about the Senate campaign, according to a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity and was not authorized to discuss private conversations.

His primary opponent, Brown, posted on X that he looks forward to highlighting “clear distinctions” between himself and Sununu “and letting the people of New Hampshire — not Washington, D.C. — decide" who will win the nomination.

Sununu served three terms in the U.S. House before being elected to the Senate at age 38. He was the chamber’s youngest member throughout his term, a fact he emphasized in a 2008 campaign ad that showed him sprinting up a steep mountain path.

“He’s younger, faster, quicker,” a deep-voiced (and somewhat redundant) narrator intones. “Inexhaustible. Tireless. Energetic.”

He is now the same age Shaheen was when she defeated him and is 16 years older than U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Sununu said Congress has become “loud, dysfunctional, even angry” in his time away, but he said he hopes to return “to help calm the waters,” while focusing on the economy, veterans, health care costs and Social Security.

Pappas' campaign countered that he is the one who has been fighting to lower costs for working families, seniors and small businesses while Sununu has spent years “cashing in and making millions selling out to corporations and working for special interests."

“Chris Pappas will stand up to corporate special interests and take on anyone to do what is best for New Hampshire, and that’s why Granite Staters will elect him to the U.S. Senate next November,” campaign manager Rachel Petri said in a statement.

Though Sununu has long been out of office, his name recognition remains high because of his family’s political prominence. His father, John H. Sununu, is a former governor and former White House chief of staff. One of his brothers, Chris Sununu, served four terms as governor and flirted with a Senate campaign of his own in 2021. He also shot down a bid this cycle, saying he had spoken to the White House but opted against it.

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Cappelletti reported from Washington.

– Holly Ramer and Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press