Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) expressed confidence that he would win retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-N.H.) seat if he decided to run in the 2026 race.
“…My biggest fear is that I would win. I’m not too worried about that, actually,” Sununu said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Guy Benson Show” published on Thursday, adding “I would win, by the way.”
Benson followed up on Sununu’s remarks later during the interview, asking him what made him feel so confident should he enter the race, which was rated “lean Democrat” by the Cook Political Report on Wednesday after Shaheen announced she would not seek reelection.
“Look, I know my voters. I’m connected to the voters. The biggest fundamental problem that federal candidates have in the state is, as a governor, I was out there every day, eight years with voters listening to them,” Sununu said. “And that’s where the — I tried to almost translate what was happening on the ground, whether it was to the folks in Washington, to the media who didn’t understand what was really going on — I just, I have a good pulse. I think I’ve earned the trust of folks.”
Sununu acknowledged he wasn’t taking the race for granted, saying, “you’d have to run hard.” But he suggested he’d perform well if he gave the Senate bid a go.
“So if I really wanted to do this, I have no doubt we could be very, very successful. I know that sounds arrogant and all that kind of crap. I don’t care,” he said, adding winning wasn’t his concern “it’s just about whether it’s really right for myself and my family.”
Shaheen announced this week that she would not be running for another term in the Senate, setting up another open seat for Democrats to defend.
Sununu is among those who have expressed interest in the seat, in addition to former Trump ambassador Scott Brown.
On the Democratic side, Reps. Chris Pappas (N.H.) and Maggie Goodlander (N.H.) are both considering Senate bids themselves, according to sources who spoke to The Hill. Former Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) told Axios she’s considering a run if Pappas forgoes a bid himself.
A spokesman for the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm said they weren’t concerned about holding the seat in the Granite State.
“No Republican has won a Senate race in over a decade in New Hampshire, and that trend will continue in 2026,” David Bergstein, the spokesman, told The Hill in a statement. “This is exactly the kind of state where the building midterm backlash against Republicans will hit their candidates especially hard.”
