Former Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.) nabbed endorsements from a handful of GOP senators on Monday amid early signs that the party is looking to quickly coalesce around his candidacy in the Republican primary to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) next year.
Eight GOP senators led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the chair of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, said they are backing Sununu, according to endorsements first shared with The Hill.
It’s a group that includes nearly all of the Senate Republican leadership.
Those endorsements include: Sens. Jim Banks (Ind.), John Barrasso (Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Katie Britt (Ala.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), James Lankford (Okla.), and Pete Ricketts (Neb.).
Scott had signaled shortly after Sununu’s campaign announcement last week that the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm would be backing his candidacy, but the early rollout of endorsements underscores how Republicans are looking to quickly rally behind his campaign and avoid a potentially ugly primary against former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa during the first Trump administration. Brown is also vying for the GOP nod for Shaheen’s seat next year.
“John Sununu’s deep roots and passion for the Granite State make him built to win,” Scott said in a statement.
“New Hampshire is ready for a proven leader who stands up for seniors, fights for economic and educational opportunity, and delivers real solutions to make life more affordable and prosperous,” he continued.
Blackburn and Banks lauded Sununu as a “fighter” in separate statements, while Barrasso separately said in his own statement that “John Sununu’s decision to run instantly makes New Hampshire a top tier U.S. Senate race.”
Sununu announced last week that he would be running for the New Hampshire Senate seat against Brown. Sununu, a then-three-term House lawmaker, defeated Shaheen, who was governor, for the Senate race in 2002. However, Shaheen beat him six years later in 2008.
Shaheen announced in March she would not be seeking reelection. Democrats are rallying behind Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), who is looking to succeed her.
Sununu is a part of a prominent politically connected family in the Granite State. His father, John Henry Sununu, served as governor of New Hampshire and also served as chief of staff to former President George H. W. Bush while his mother, Nancy Sununu, was a former state GOP chair. His brother, Chris Sununu, is also a former New Hampshire governor.
Brown, however, has signaled the GOP primary won’t be a coronation for Sununu. Brown represented Massachusetts in the Senate, winning a special election in 2010 to serve the remainder of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) term.
Brown later lost to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in 2012. He tried to oust Shaheen for the Senate seat in New Hampshire in 2014 and later lost by several points.
“While John was fighting for special interests, I was serving in the first Trump administration,” Brown said in a statement last week upon Sununu’s announcement. “While John was wooing the DC establishment this summer, I have been working with grassroots activists across the Granite State.”
