Republicans outspend Democrats $39 million to $23 million in state
DEERFIELD, N.H. — John E. Sununu worked the annual fair in Deerfield on a recent weekend, greeting voters and pitching himself as a “strong, independent voice” focused entirely on New Hampshire issues and bringing down economic costs — noting that he even worked with Hillary Clinton on automobile safety. The Republican’s pitch carries unusual stakes: nearly two decades after he was first elected to the Senate in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and became the chamber’s youngest member during his single term, Sununu is attempting a political comeback in a difficult political environment.
To mount that comeback, Sununu must navigate a tightrope, creating enough distance from President Trump while still attracting Trump’s MAGA supporters. Polls show his opponent, Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, with a slight edge in a state where Democrats have dominated federal offices for the past decade.
“Look, I’ve never met the president. If he pushes for policies that aren’t good for New Hampshire, I’m going to oppose them. If he pushes for policies that I think are right for New Hampshire, I’ll support them,” Sununu told reporters at the fair. “This is about the future. Donald Trump will be in office for two more years, and when he leaves, it’s going to create a huge vacuum and I want to make sure the country goes in a direction that’s good for New Hampshire.”
The race carries national implications for control of the U.S. Senate. Democrats are increasingly bullish about their chances of winning a majority, needing a net gain of four seats as races tighten around the country. A loss in New Hampshire — or in Michigan, where Abdul El Sayed is in a tight race against Mike Rogers to hold onto another blue seat — would complicate those plans. Facing potential losses of GOP-held Senate seats in North Carolina, Alaska, Iowa, Ohio, Maine and Texas, Republicans have been pouring money into advertising in New Hampshire.
The party has spent about $39 million in New Hampshire through the beginning of October, according to data compiled by AdImpact, compared with $23 million by Democrats. Republicans have also reserved another $14.6 million through the November election, slightly more than the $14.2 million in reservations for Democrats — a disparity that has drawn notice from state Democrats. “Every commercial is basically, ‘He’s Satan,’ ‘No, he’s Satan,’” said Glenn Brackett, president of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO, which is supporting Pappas. “I think there’s some battle fatigue going on because we have elections here every two years.”
Pappas has been sounding the alarm for months, urging the national party not to become complacent in the battleground state. He has drawn help from surrogates considering 2028 presidential bids, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who campaigned with him during the past weekend.
Democrats have tried to portray Sununu as a beneficiary of Washington’s revolving door, pointing to his post-Senate lobbying career and asserting that he would be a rubber-stamp for Trump. “He was there before and it didn’t end well for New Hampshire. And the fact is, this is the time to turn the page from Trump,” Pappas said in an interview. Republicans have aired advertising about Pappas, who is gay, voting on issues that his spouse has lobbied on.
Sununu has offered specific policy disagreements with the president. He told reporters at the Deerfield Fair that the U.S. shouldn’t be in a trade war with Canada, described Trump’s midterm promise of $5,000 payments as making “no sense economically,” and said, “I said from the beginning it was a mistake to go into Iran without a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.” Pappas and his team note that Sununu previously said the Trump administration was correct to seek to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program — Sununu said in March that the Iran mission was “important and critical” and said in June that the administration had “achieved success” in Iran.
Sununu also backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s 2024 presidential bid against Trump and penned a January 2024 opinion piece headlined “Donald Trump is a Loser.” Asked about the piece, Sununu said: “I didn’t write the headline but I think most of what was in there was a fair assessment at the time.”
The Sununu name is among the best-known in New Hampshire Republican politics. The former senator is the eldest of eight children. His father, John H. Sununu, served as governor in the 1980s and then as White House chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush. His brother, Chris Sununu, who is about 10 years younger, served as governor for eight years, wrapping up his final term in 2025, and now leads a trade group for major U.S. airlines.
John E. Sununu won a House seat in 1996 and then defeated Sen. Bob Smith in a 2002 primary — Smith had launched a quixotic independent bid for president before returning to the GOP — before beating Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in that year’s general election, becoming a senator at age 38. He lost a rematch with Shaheen in 2008. Eyeing the seat, Republicans first checked in with his brother Chris Sununu, but he rejected those overtures. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and former Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, who was leading a GOP Senate super PAC at the time, then quietly encouraged John E. Sununu to run and provided him with polling, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Thune then lobbied Trump to support Sununu in the primary against former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, the party’s 2014 Senate nominee, the person said. Trump issued the early endorsement in February.
Democrats have needled Sununu over his family ties, suggesting that some voters think his younger brother, the popular former governor, is the Senate candidate. Sununu pushed back at the fair: “You just walked with me for 40 minutes. Not only did just about every person I met know the difference, half the people yelled out my name, ‘John Sununu,’ without me even introducing myself.” Adding, “So you can sort of parrot the idea that there is a lot of confusion — there’s really very, very little confusion,” he said, with the further observation: “There were even high school kids yelling out my name.”
Inside the fairgrounds, Sununu walked from booth to booth, shaking hands and greeting attendees, most of whom responded positively. One person recalled taking a photograph with Sununu in his Senate office after receiving an award. Another told Sununu that he went to school with one of his sisters.
The visit also exposed the state’s flinty political side. When Sununu approached Paul LeBlanc, of Pittsfield, inside a tent filled with antique tractors, LeBlanc scolded Sununu about his negative ads about Pappas. As Sununu walked away, LeBlanc, a Democrat, shouted at him, “Stay off my TV!”
Despite Sununu’s stated distance from Trump, the president’s most committed New Hampshire supporters said they expect to back the Republican. Lou Gargiulo, who co-chaired Trump’s three campaigns in the state, said he expected MAGA faithful in New Hampshire to vote for Sununu and he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Trump visits the state before the election. Gargiulo said it would be Sununu’s decision on whether to attend an event with Trump, adding, “He’s the candidate and candidates have to make difficult decisions. If he thinks it’s going to hurt him, well, that’s a problem. But I think a visit could be orchestrated in a manner that would be beneficial without hurting anybody.”