Former Sen. John Sununu Enters New Hampshire Senate Race

Sununu is competing against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) for the seat. The Republican primary will be held next year.

Sen. John E. Sununu in a U.S. Senate photo public domain photo

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, a member of the prominent Sununu political family, on Oct. 22 entered the 2026 U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire as a Republican candidate.

Sununu announced his candidacy with a video posted on X, pitching himself as a bipartisan and pragmatic candidate who would “return to the Senate to help calm the waters.”

“Somebody has to step up and lower the temperature. Somebody has to get things done, laser focused on the economy, jobs, our debt,” Sununu said.

“Over 12 years, I never voted to cut [Social Security] benefits, and I never will,” he said, addressing a key issue for older voters.

Sununu’s campaign website indicates that his campaign will focus on “jobs, affordability, and independent leadership.” He has yet to release a complete policy platform.

The Senate race in New Hampshire will be an open election, with incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) retiring from the body. Sununu previously served 12 years in Congress, acting as a U.S. Representative from 1997 to 2003 from New Hampshire’s 1st District, and then as the state’s Senator from 2003 to 2009. Shaheen defeated his bid for reelection in 2008—a bonanza year for Democrats that saw President Barack Obama elected and the party make sweeping Congressional gains.

Sununu is the son of the late New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu (R-N.H.), who also served as the White House Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1991. He is the brother of former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.), who served from 2017 to 2025 and declined to run for the seat.

The Republican primary for this race is competitive, and John Sununu is not the only former senator running. Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who represented Massachusetts from 2010 to 2013, has since moved to New Hampshire and is also running.

Brown famously won a 2010 special election to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy (D-Mass.) in Massachusetts and reduced the Democrats’ Senate majority to 59 seats, complicating the passage of the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare.” He served in President Donald Trump’s first administration as the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.

“In Washington, we haven’t been represented by the right people ... It’s time to move on,” Brown said in his campaign announcement video. He made reference to U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), who holds the U.S. House seat in the 1st District that Sununu held from 1997 to 2003. Pappas is a candidate in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat. Shaheen and U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) have both endorsed Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire conducted in September appears to favor Sununu, showing him having 42 percent support compared to Brown’s 19 percent. A St. Anselm College poll from August that didn’t include Sununu showed Brown with 48 percent support. The primary will be held on Sept. 8, 2026.