NewsMax · Newsmax Wires · September 9, 2026
Former Sen. John Sununu won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire on Tuesday, with Newsmax calling the race based on a projection by Decision Desk HQ.
Sununu defeated former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown and other Republican challengers, setting up a November showdown with Democrat Rep. Chris Pappas, who won the Democrat nomination.
The race is for the seat held by Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is retiring after three terms.
Sununu's victory gives Republicans a candidate with statewide name recognition and previous Senate experience as they try to flip a seat Democrats have held since 2009.
Sununu, 61, represented New Hampshire in the U.S. House for three terms before winning election to the Senate in 2002.
He served one six-year Senate term, from 2003 to 2009, before losing his reelection bid to Shaheen in 2008.
The 2026 campaign therefore gives Sununu a chance to reclaim the Senate seat he lost nearly two decades ago.
Sununu comes from one of New Hampshire's most prominent Republican political families.
His father, John H. Sununu, served as New Hampshire governor and later as chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush.
His younger brother, Chris Sununu, served four terms as New Hampshire governor before leaving office in 2025.
President Donald Trump endorsed John Sununu in the Republican primary, despite past criticism of Trump from Sununu and members of his family.
Sununu nevertheless emerged as the clear Republican favorite, defeating Brown, who had previously represented Massachusetts in the Senate and later served as Trump's ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
On the Democrat side, Pappas won his party's nomination over progressive challenger Karishma Manzur.
Pappas has represented New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District since 2019 and entered the Senate race after Shaheen announced her retirement.
He received endorsements from Shaheen, Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The November race is expected to be closely watched as Republicans defend their Senate majority and Democrats seek the seats they need to regain control of the chamber.
New Hampshire has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 2010, when Kelly Ayotte defeated Democrat Paul Hodes.
Ayotte is now the state's Republican governor.
The state remains politically competitive. Democrat Kamala Harris carried New Hampshire over Trump in the 2024 presidential election, but Republicans control the governor's office and both chambers of the state Legislature.