LACONIA, NH — One notable absence has followed John Sununu on the campaign trail as the Republican seeks to reclaim his former Senate seat: his younger brother, Chris, the popular four-term former governor of New Hampshire.
“There’s really no need to campaign with anyone else,” the 62-year-old John told The Post when asked why Chris has not appeared alongside him. “In New Hampshire, they want to meet the candidate. You go town to town, person to person.”
John said his brother has nonetheless been active on his behalf. “My brother’s done lots of events,” he said. “It’s great to have him doing events that I can’t attend. You can’t be everywhere at the same time. So he’s been supportive. He’s been out on the campaign trail. He’s supporting other candidates across the ticket.”
Next week’s election could be the final opportunity for John Edward Sununu to preserve a political dynasty that has shaped New Hampshire Republican politics since 1982. That was the year his father, John Henry Sununu, won the first of three terms as governor, launching a career that later took him to the White House as chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush.
The younger John Sununu served six years in the House before defeating Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in a contentious 2002 Senate race. Shaheen won their rematch six years later, benefiting from Barack Obama’s strong showing, and went on to hold the seat for three terms before announcing her retirement last year.
With Chris Sununu passing on a potentially competitive Senate campaign in 2022 — and later declining to pursue a long-shot presidential bid in 2024 — John E. is the last Sununu running for office. He is also facing a steep challenge.
Polling has consistently placed the Republican behind Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), whose family owns Manchester’s Puritan Backroom restaurant, which claims to have invented the chicken tender. With one week remaining before Election Day, the RealClearPolitics average showed Sununu trailing by 6.7 percentage points.
“I love the fact that he’s running,” said a Sununu supporter named Paige, who declined to provide her last name. “It keeps the Sununu name going, which I think is great because it’s such an old — I remember [John H.] Sununu in the ’80s, and I’m like 60.”
The family connection has remained a recurring theme throughout the race. Yard signs around the state read simply “Sununu Senator,” leading Pappas to accuse the Republican campaign of attempting to make undecided voters believe Chris is the candidate.
The confusion even surfaced during the candidates’ first debate earlier this month, when moderator George Epstein mistakenly addressed John as “Chris.”
“Look, if people thought they were voting for me, my brother would be up by 30 points,” the former governor told CNN on Sunday in response to the controversy. “Come on.”
On Saturday, after a Boston Globe reporter asked John how often voters mistook him for his brother, the candidate suddenly turned to a young boy and asked, “Hey, how are you? Who am I?”
“John Sununu,” the boy replied.
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“So this is a reporter from the Boston Globe, and she thinks people are confused about who I am,” Sununu said with a laugh. “Pretty ridiculous, huh?”
Republicans have controlled New Hampshire’s legislature and governor’s office for much of the past decade, but the party has had far less success in federal contests. The state has not backed a Republican presidential nominee since 2000, elected a GOP senator since 2010 or sent a Republican congressman to Washington since 2014.
Many Republican leaders in Washington hoped Chris Sununu would end that federal losing streak in 2022. He rejected their calls to challenge Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), saying at the time that he would “rather push myself 120 miles an hour delivering wins for New Hampshire than to slow down, end up on Capitol Hill debating partisan politics without results.”
His older brother, who was in Washington during the contentious lead-up to the Iraq war, the 2004 election and the 2008 financial crisis, takes a more hopeful view of the Senate’s ability to function.
“It’s not easy to get things done in the Senate, but I was always able to get things done,” he said. “Times were just as partisan then as they are today.”
Although Sununu says the Senate was no less polarized when he left in 2009, New Hampshire has changed demographically. The state’s population grew by 4% between 2009 and 2025, with most newcomers settling in southern New Hampshire, within commuting distance of Boston.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the liberal people that are from Massachusetts kind of migrated their way up here,” said Sununu supporter Steve Donaher. “They mainly live in southern New Hampshire.”
While Pappas has campaigned with Democratic stars like former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sununu has waged a throwback retail campaign, engaging in a series of smaller events seemingly aimed at mobilizing New Hampshire’s rural voters.
The Republican has also explicitly distanced himself from President Trump, complaining in a recent ad that while Pappas was trying to depict Sununu as the commander-in-chief’s “long-lost son,” the former senator had “never even met the man.”
“When the president’s policies are bad for New Hampshire, I’ll oppose them,” Sununu said in the same ad. “Just like I opposed the war in Iran and the trade war with Canada. That’s New Hampshire independent.”
At Laconia’s Pumpkin Festival on Saturday, Sununu mingled with festival-goers, shaking hands, taking selfies, and making small talk — receiving lots of compliments about his father and brother along the way.
“Hot dogs for Sununu,” a group of women at one stand John visited cheered as he took a photo of them.
“It’s always interesting to meet the folks that are running for political office and hear what their priorities are and how they plan to serve,” said one of the group, Nicole, who also declined to give her last name.
When asked who she was backing in the Senate race, Nicole answered: “Chris Pappas. I just feel like I’m aligned with his priorities.”
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