With a Sununu running for Senate, Democrats warn against ‘sleeping on New Hampshire’
Henry Gomez
NBC News
November 7, 2025
Former Sen. John E. Sununu’s comeback attempt in New Hampshire has Democrats there warning about a tougher-than-expected Senate race that could complicate the party’s effort to flip control of the chamber next year.
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“I think people are sleeping on New Hampshire nationally, and that’s really foolish,” said Aaron Jacobs, who managed Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan’s 2022 re-election effort there and ran the state campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
“I certainly think a Sununu getting in the race puts this race at a different level,” Jacobs added. “John Sununu is not Chris Sununu. It’s been a long time since he was a senator. But the bumper stickers are still going to say Sununu.”
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“He makes it a tough race,” Kathy Sullivan, a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair, said of John E. Sununu. “The name means something in New Hampshire. And Sununu will bring in a ton of money. It will be the most expensive race we’ve ever seen in New Hampshire.”
Sununu’s launch was quickly cheered by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and its chair, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
“Sen. Sununu turned New Hampshire from a potential opportunity into a top battleground race,” NRSC spokesperson Samantha Cantrell said. “His deep ties to the state and grassroots support make him uniquely qualified to take on Chris Pappas and give New Hampshire a Senator that will put their needs first always.”
Several Democrats pointed to two recent elections as too close for comfort and a sign of what could await them if Sununu is the GOP nominee. In 2016, Sen. Maggie Hassan unseated Republican incumbent Kelly Ayotte, now the state’s governor, by just over 1,000 votes. And in last year’s presidential contest, Harris beat Trump there by 2.8 percentage points — the narrowest margin in a state Trump lost.
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A University of New Hampshire poll in late September, conducted before Sununu entered the race, measured him to be a stronger general election opponent than Brown. The poll, which had a margin of error of 2.7 points, found that likely voters favored Pappas over Sununu, 49% to 43%, and over Brown, 52% to 37%.
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In a statement to NBC News, Sununu spokesperson Mike Schrimpf emphasized how often Pappas voted with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the liberal former speaker of the House. Sununu, he said, “is running to be the New Hampshire candidate and has a proven record of always putting Granite Staters first. He will be a voice for all people in New Hampshire on important issues like the economy and affordability.”
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