Widely considered to be Senate republicans' top recruit in the country, took a pass on the race Tuesday morning, a clear blow for a GOP that was hoping to build momentum off of their strong showing in the 2021 elections. Sununu was quoted saying "I'd rather push myself a 120 miler per hour delivering wins for New Hampshire than to slow down and end up on Capitol Hill debating partisan politics without results."
The decision---not to mention the harsh words for Washington--- were met with frustration by party strategists.
"unbelievable" tweeted Josh Holmes, along time advisor to senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, moments after the news broke.
That sentiment was everywhere in the wake of Sununu's announcement as the prevailing wisdom had been he was a all but certain candidate against democrat Maggie Hassan next November. Because party leaders expected Sununu to run, they left him to run his own timeline---and largely avoided actively recruiting people into the race unless and until they knew what the Governor was going to do.
This also has reverbarations outside of NH. Republicans need only to net one seat in the 2022 elections to take control of the Senate majority they lost earlier this year. And, had Sununu run, Republicans would have been the favorite to win the seat, with polls suggesting he would start the contest with a mid--single digit lead.
The decision---not to mention the harsh words for Washington--- were met with frustration by party strategists.
"unbelievable" tweeted Josh Holmes, along time advisor to senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, moments after the news broke.
That sentiment was everywhere in the wake of Sununu's announcement as the prevailing wisdom had been he was a all but certain candidate against democrat Maggie Hassan next November. Because party leaders expected Sununu to run, they left him to run his own timeline---and largely avoided actively recruiting people into the race unless and until they knew what the Governor was going to do.
This also has reverbarations outside of NH. Republicans need only to net one seat in the 2022 elections to take control of the Senate majority they lost earlier this year. And, had Sununu run, Republicans would have been the favorite to win the seat, with polls suggesting he would start the contest with a mid--single digit lead.
