Senate Republicans have had their hopes hit a snag of taking majority control of the Senate after next year's midterms elections as the New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced that he would not be running against Sen. Maggie Hassan.
Democratic strategist Martha McKenna who served in top roles at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) said that her party needs to win Senate seats one by one. She called the battles the "local races."
Sununu's Withdrawal
Sununu's decision to only run for governor and not challenge Hassan for a Senate position is a crucial blow to Republicans' optimism. He is considered as their party's most valuable potential recruit. In 2020, Sununu won reelection, winning 65% of the votes, a divisive difference of 20 points against former President Donald Trump's performance in the same election.
On top of Sununu's withdrawal from running for Senate, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who six years ago lost to Hassan by just roughly 1,000 votes, announced that she would also not be running as well. In a statement, Ayotte said they will continue to focus on family, professional careers, and electing Republicans at home, The Hill reported.
Sununu explained his withdrawal from a Senate run as stemming from his preference to deliver more service to residents of New Hampshire than slowing down and debating on Capitol Hill with no results. Party strategists took the governor's reasons harshly, with a longtime adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Josh Holmes, posting on Twitter that Sununu's decision was "unbelievable."
Many GOP members expected Sununu to run for Senate during next year's midterm elections, leaving to his own devices. They also avoided actively recruiting people into the race unless they had knowledge of what the New Hampshire governor was planning to do.
Sununu's withdrawal from a Senate run is not only a major blow to Republicans but also a significant setback for strategists that are hoping to claim a majority of the Senate next year. The situation also forces the party to look for another credible individual that could challenge Hassan, and time is running out, CNN reported.
Hopes of a Majority Senate
In recent months, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Sen. Rick Scott said that he believed Sununu would run for Senate. But the New Hampshire governor was tightlipped about his decision and gave no advance notice to McConnell and Scott.
During a telephone interview on Tuesday, Sununu said he was able to have a talk with Scott after making his announcement of withdrawing from a Senate run. During the call, the official said that he never wanted to let people down because there was a lot of pressure and expectations on him running.
"But at the end of the day, I just have to do what I believe is the best thing for the citizens in New Hampshire. This is my top priority, not that malaise of Washington," said Sununu, Yahoo News reported.
The announcement came as polls have shown that Hassan would be vulnerable to a strong challenger. A recent survey from the University of New Hampshire also showed that Hassan was in close hypothetical races against Sununu and Don Bolduc.
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