John Sununu easily won Tuesday’s New Hampshire Republican Senate primary, boosting the GOP’s chances of maintaining control of the chamber in November. He claimed over 69 percent of the vote over former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in the primary.
No stranger to elective office in the Granite State, Sununu served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997-2003 and one term in the Senate from 2003 through 2009.
A poll taken shortly before the primary sponsored by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) showed Sununu narrowly leading the Democrat nominee, Rep. Chris Pappas, with 37 percent to Pappas’ 36 percent.
The NRSC said in a statement that, “Poll after poll shows that Granite Staters are fed up with Party Line Pappas being a rubber stamp for Democrats’ radical agenda and they are ready to elect John Sununu in November.”
Pappas won the primary over a Democratic Socialist of America (DSA)-backed candidate, Karishma Manzur, and needed a late endorsement from failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris to push him over the finish line.
John Sununu, Republican Senate candidate from New Hampshire, speaks during a primary election night watch party in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. Sununu, 61, defeated Scott Brown, a former Massachusetts U.S. senator and ambassador during the first Trump administration. (Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty)
In remarks following his primary victory, Sununu pledged to, “stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day,” and said his campaign is centered on affordability, independent leadership, and putting New Hampshire first.
The Sununu name gives Republicans an opening to flip a Democrat-controlled seat and puts Democrats on defense. Sununu’s father and brother have both served as governor in the state.
Republicans, who currently hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate, look at the state as an opportunity in addition to potential flips in Georgia, Michigan, and Minnesota.
Sununu was defeated by outgoing Democrat Sen. Jeanne Sheheen in the 2008 election.
The last elected Republican senator from the state is Kelly Ayotte, who served a single term from 2010-2016.
Ayotte currently serves as the state’s governor and will also be on the ballot in November.
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