Trump endorses John E. Sununu over Scott Brown in New Hampshire Senate race

President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed former Sen. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire, a longtime GOP Trump critic, over former Sen. Scott Brown, one of his first-term ambassadors, in one of the few key Senate races that could decide the Senate majority in the midterm elections.

Praised by Trump as an “America First Patriot” who will “work tirelessly to advance our America First Agenda,” Sununu is viewed by top Senate Republicans as the strongest candidate who could replace longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is retiring at the end of this year rather than seek re-election to a fourth six-year term.

Trump emphasized in a post on social media, “I Completely Endorse John E. Sununu – HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU TO THE RACE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN – ELECT JOHN E. SUNUNU.”

Sununu is a former three-term representative who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire’s 2002 Senate election. However, the senator lost to Shaheen in their rematch in 2008.

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“I want to thank the President for his support and the thousands of Granite Statists who support me,” Sununu said after receiving Trump’s endorsement. he said.

This support will further strengthen Sununu, who has a voting and fundraising advantage over Brown.

Following Trump’s confirmation, the Senate Leadership Fund, aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, said on

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However, Brown has no intention of leaving as of now.

“I have always believed that the people of New Hampshire are the final authority on our future, and they deserve a choice between candidates who want to earn their support,” he said in a statement.

Apparently questioning Sununu’s MAGA credentials, he added: “I’m running to ensure that our America First agenda is led by someone who sees this mission not as a career path but as a continuation of a lifelong commitment to service.”

Former Senator Scott Brown, who launched the Republican Senate campaign in New Hampshire in June, is interviewed by Fox News Digital in Exeter, NH, on July 4, 2025 (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

Brown emphasized: “My priorities for New Hampshire are clear: a stronger economy, a secure border, reliable and affordable energy, and better health care for our veterans. This mission has always been about you, not me. Let’s keep working!”

Sununu is a household name in New Hampshire politics. His father, John H. Sununu, is a former governor who later served as chief of staff in President George H. W. Bush’s White House. And one of his younger brothers is former Gov. Chris Sununu, who won and was reelected to four two-year terms to lead the Granite State.

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But Sununu has a long history of supporting Trump’s rivals. He served as national co-chairman of the 2016 Republican presidential campaign for then-Ohio Governor John Kasich, who refused to support Trump as the party’s nominee.

And Sununu, along with then-Gov. Chris Sununu has endorsed former ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary as she battles Trump for the nomination.

On the eve of the nation’s first presidential primary, the former senator wrote an opinion piece titled “Donald Trump is a loser” published in the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state’s largest daily newspaper.

Brown supported Trump ahead of his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory that propelled him to the GOP presidential nomination and eventually the White House. Brown later served as the US ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, speaking at a press conference in Washington, DC, on November 9, 2025, is retiring at the end of this year. (Nathan Posner/Anatolia via Getty Images)

Some in New Hampshire’s MAGA base immediately rejected the president’s endorsement of Sununu, calling it a “slap in the face to grassroots supporters” who have long supported Trump.

A group of MAGA activists posted on “We will continue and intensify our campaign opposition to the Sununu operation.”

Brown officially launched his Senate campaign in June after more than six months of reaching out to grassroots supporters in the state. He raised nearly $1 million in his first three months as a candidate.

Sununu entered the race in late October with the support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of the Senate GOP.

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Sen. Tim Scott, the NRSC chairman, said at the time that Senate Republicans were “all in” for Sununu.

Since then, Sununu has gained the support of a majority of Senate Republicans as well as GOP leaders in New Hampshire.

The seat in New Hampshire and the open Democratic seat in Michigan are two of the NRSC’s top targets this year as they aim to expand their 53-47 majority in the chamber. Georgia, where the GOP sees Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff as very vulnerable, is another main target of the NRSC.

Sununu has more than doubled Brown’s fundraising over the past three months, and the latest polls in New Hampshire show Sununu with a double-digit lead over Brown in the GOP primary, which doesn’t take place until September.

Representative Chris Pappas, Democratic Senate candidate in New Hampshire, is interviewed by Fox News Digital in Portsmouth, NH on July 4, 2025 (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

Pappas, a four-term congressman representing the eastern half of the state, surpassed both Sununu and Brown in fundraising in the 4th quarter of 2025.

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Recent polls show Pappas trailing Sununu by single digits and Brown by double digits in hypothetical general election matchups.

Pappas is the clear frontrunner for his party’s nomination in a race that also includes New Hampshire Democratic Party rules committee member Karishma Manzur.