US Politics

Former GOP senator emerges from private sector with new mission: ‘Somebody has to step up’

By Eric October 22, 2025

Former Republican Senator John E. Sununu of New Hampshire has officially announced his candidacy for the 2026 Senate race, seeking to reclaim his former seat now held by retiring Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. In a campaign launch video shared with Fox News Digital, Sununu expressed concern over the current state of Congress, describing it as “loud, dysfunctional, even angry,” and emphasized his desire to “calm the waters” and foster productive governance. Sununu, who previously served three terms in the House and won a Senate seat by defeating Shaheen in 2002, faces a challenging path ahead; he lost to her in their rematch in 2008 and has spent nearly two decades in the private sector since then. His return to politics comes at a crucial time as Republicans aim to flip the seat in a state that has historically leaned Democratic, especially in federal elections.

Sununu’s candidacy is notable not only for his political pedigree—his father was a former governor and his brother, Chris Sununu, currently holds the governor’s office—but also for the competition he faces within the GOP. Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, who narrowly lost to Shaheen in 2014, has already entered the race and is positioning himself as a strong contender. Brown has criticized Sununu for his past reluctance to support Donald Trump, a figure whose endorsement remains highly influential among Republican voters. This intra-party rivalry could complicate Sununu’s path to the nomination, especially as he seeks to appeal to a base that has shifted significantly since his last Senate run. The dynamics of the race are further intensified by the contrasting political strategies and endorsements from key Republican figures, including Trump, who has previously expressed support for both Sununu and Brown.

As the political landscape evolves, the New Hampshire Senate race is shaping up to be a critical battleground for both parties. With the state primaries scheduled for September 2024, the stakes are high, particularly for Republicans who have not won a Senate seat in New Hampshire since 2010. The Democratic Party has already begun to target Sununu, accusing him of being out of touch with the needs of Granite State residents due to his extensive corporate ties. As the campaign unfolds, all eyes will be on how Sununu navigates these challenges and whether he can leverage his political experience and name recognition to secure a comeback in a state that has historically favored Democratic candidates in Senate races.

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EXCLUSIVE:
Former Republican Sen.
John E. Sununu
of New Hampshire wants his old job back.
And on Wednesday, Sununu took a big first step towards returning to Capitol Hill as he announced his candidacy in the 2026 race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in New England’s only swing state.
Sununu, in a campaign launch video shared first nationally with Fox News Digital, said that nowadays “Congress just seems loud, dysfunctional, even angry,” and that he wants to “return to the Senate to help calm the waters.”
Sununu is a former three-term representative who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in
New Hampshire’s
2002 Senate election. But the senator lost to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch.
HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS
Shaheen announced
earlier this year that she wouldn’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms and Republicans are working to flip the seat as they aim to not only defend but expand their Senate majority.
Now, after nearly two decades in the private sector, Sununu is ready to return to the Senate campaign trail in New England’s only swing state.
“Maybe you’re surprised that I’m running for the Senate again,” Sununu says to the camera
in his video.
“I’m a bit surprised myself. 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.”
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Sununu is a brand name in New Hampshire politics. The former senator’s father, John H. Sununu, is a former governor who later served as chief of staff in then-President George H.W. Bush’s White House. And one of his younger brothers is former Gov. Chris Sununu, who won election and re-election to four two-year terms steering the Granite State.
But Sununu won’t have a glide path to the GOP nomination.
Former ambassador and former Sen.
Scott Brown
, who was elected and served three years in the Senate in neighboring Massachusetts, and who, as the 2014 GOP Senate nominee in New Hampshire, narrowly lost to Shaheen during her first re-election, jumped into the race in late June.
“Our campaign will have the necessary resources for the long haul, and allow me to campaign the only way I know how: relentless hard work and a focus on retail politics that Granite State voters expect,” Brown said after Fox News first reported that he hauled in roughly $1.2 million in fundraising the past three months.
Brown has repeatedly taken aim at Sununu the past month over the former senator’s lack of past support for President
Donald Trump
, who holds immense clout over the GOP.
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Sununu served as national co-chair on the 2016 Republican presidential campaign of then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who declined to support Trump as the party’s nominee.
And Sununu, along with then-Gov. Chris Sununu, endorsed former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, as she battled Trump for the nomination.
And on the eve of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, the former senator wrote an opinion piece titled “Donald Trump is a loser,” that ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state’s largest daily newspaper.
Brown endorsed Trump ahead of his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory, which launched him toward the GOP presidential nomination and ultimately the White House. Brown later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.
“Anyone who thinks that a never Trump, corporate lobbyist who hasn’t won an election in a quarter century will resonate with today’s GOP primary voters is living in a different universe. While John was supporting John Kasich in 2016, I was campaigning with Donald Trump,” Brown charged in a statement to Fox News.
And pointing to Sununu’s past decade and a half in the private sector, Brown argued that “while John was fighting for special interests, I was serving in the first Trump administration. While John was wooing the DC establishment this summer, I have been working with grassroots activists across the Granite State. Senate seats are earned, not handed down.”
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Trump, whose endorsement in Republican primaries is extremely influential, has remained neutral to date.
But the president may be willing to overlook Sununu’s past jabs.
Earlier this year, when Chris Sununu flirted with a Senate bid after leaving office, Trump urged him to run.
The younger Sununu, who was Haley’s top supporter and surrogate in New Hampshire, repeatedly criticized Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.
Trump told reporters in April that he had met with the former governor in the Oval Office and that he’d “support him fully.”
“He’s been very nice to me over the last year or so,” Trump added. “I hope he runs. I think he’ll win that seat.”
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And a national Republican strategist familiar with the Senate race in New Hampshire told Fox News Digital last month, “President Trump appreciates winners and understands that John E. Sununu puts this race on the map for Republicans.”
As Fox News reported, Sununu met last month with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and former Sen. Cory Gardner, who served as chair of the Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans. National Republicans view Sununu as the strongest candidate to win back the seat in New Hampshire.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Trump ally and chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is the campaign arm of the Senate GOP. took to social media a couple of hours after Sununu’s announcement to emphasize, “The @NRSC is all-in for @SununuSenator !”
And the Senate Leadership Fund, the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans — which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and steered by Trump world veterans — praised Sununu.
The group’s executive director, Alex Latcham, wrote in a statement that Sununu “is a respected leader and a trusted voice for New Hampshire whose candidacy instantly expands the Senate map and puts the Granite State in play for Republicans.”
Four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who launched his Senate campaign in early April, is the clear frontrunner for his party’s nomination.
The New Hampshire Democratic Party quickly took aim at Sununu.
“John Sununu went to Washington almost thirty years ago, then cashed in, making millions selling out to corporations and working for Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Wall Street while the people of New Hampshire paid the price,” longtime state party chair Ray Buckley argued in a statement
.
“The only reason Sununu wants to go back to Washington now is to sell out New Hampshire to the same corporations and special interests that have lined his pockets for years. Granite Staters won’t let him sell us out again.”
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) pointed to the brewing primary clash between Sununu and Brown.
While New Hampshire has for over a century held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, its state primary, which will be held next September, is one of the last-in-the-nation.
While Republicans have had success in state elections — they control the governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature — the GOP hasn’t won a Senate election in New Hampshire since 2010.