(The Center Square) — Senate Republicans are throwing their support behind former Sen. John Sununu’s bid to flip one of New Hampshire’s two U.S. Senate seats to help hold onto their majority in the chamber.
The Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, announced that it is devoting $17 million to the U.S. Senate race, hoping to flip the Democratic held seat as the GOP tries to hold onto the chamber. Sununu will face former Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in a GOP primary for the party’s nomination to run for the open Senate seat.
Alex Latcham, the fund’s executive director, said the spending is part of a $342 million “early investment” in key Senate battleground states, to “deploy resources and build full scale campaigns to protect and expand the Republican Senate Majority.”
“John Sununu has a proven record of creating jobs, strengthening national security, and fighting for working families,” Latcham said. “Meanwhile, Chris Pappas has failed to represent Granite State values and is beholden to a radical liberal agenda.
The leadership fund said it will run ads this summer through Election Day, “expose the extraordinary obstruction and failures of the Democratic Party while highlighting John Sununu and Senate Republicans’ plans to keep America safe, strong, and prosperous.”
The decision by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a three-term Democrat and former New Hampshire governor, not to seek reelection this year has prompted a flurry of candidates in what is likely to be a competitive race that could help control of the U.S. Senate in next year’s midterms.
Brown, a former New Zealand ambassador who lost a New Hampshire Senate race against Shaheen in 2014, got into the race early by declaring his candidacy before Shaheen announced she would not be running for another term.
In January, Sununu launched his comeback bid to reclaim the seat he lost to Democrats 17 years ago. The veteran politician, whose lineage hails from one of New Hampshire’s most storied political families, represented New Hampshire in the Senate from 2003 to 2008 after serving in the House of Representatives. He lost a reelection bid to Shaheen in the 2008 elections.
On the Democratic side, four-term Rep. Chris Pappas will face off against state Rep. Jared Sullivan and political newcomer Karishma Manzur for the party’s nomination to run for the Senate seat.
“Senate Leadership Fund is proud to support John Sununu, help defeat Far-Left Chris Pappas, and ensure New Hampshire has an effective voice in Washington, D.C.,” Latcham said.
A University of New Hampshire poll released in September found 42% of likely Republican voters favor Sununu versus 27% who would vote for Brown, in a primary matchup. About 31% of those polled were still undecided. Tejasinha Sivalingam is the third candidate in the primary.
