NH Gov Sununu: I Very Well May Run for President

Governor Chris Sununu (R-NH) said Tuesday on SiriusXM POTUS channel’s “The Briefing” that he is considering running for president in the Republican primary.

Host Steve Scully asked, “When does Governor Chris Sununu announce that he is running for president?”

Sununu said, “Oh boy. Look, I’ll tell you – I don’t know when that is and the if and when, maybe this summer, we’ll get to that. But I’ve got to tell you, we have created this organization, and I think that’s why we’re getting a lot of national attention, and I’m honored in that the New Hampshire model is really successful. And so people have asked me to travel the country and say, well, how does it work there? How do we get what you guys have? And so I do that, and I’m also, more importantly, I’m the guy that’s trying to expand the party. I get really frustrated with the Republican party because we are just talking in our same echo chamber as opposed to how do we get independence back on board. How do we talk to the next generation voter, which right now really doesn’t want to be part of the Republican party, but we got this great product? We got this great product of limited government and local control, and we can stay true to those values, and that’s something that that next generation wants to see. But we don’t promote that well enough. So I’m trying to bridge that. So I’m trying to raise a heck of a lot of money to kind of create this national organization. It’s getting a lot of momentum and a lot of steam. And in doing so, yeah, people are saying I should run. Now, we’ll see if that really happens. I very well may do it because I just don’t see certain things lining up for the Republican party to make sure, not just winning the nomination, winning in November, winning in November is all that matters.”

Scully said, “I very well may do it. That seems like you’re inching closer to running.”

Sununu said, “Yeah, well, I very well may do it. Yeah, that’s absolutely right. I very well may. I mean, I want to see where stuff goes. I think a lot of people are going to get in the race, and I know there’s a huge concern. Oh, you’ll dilute the race, and that’s a valid concern, but don’t be so worried about who gets in. Because one thing I’ve learned in politics if people want to run, they’re going to run. But what we need to do, whether it’s myself, or even Governor Reynolds and I, or some of the other leaders of this early process, to start pulling levers and getting people out. The discipline is not getting in. The discipline is knowing I’m sitting in single poll numbers. All I’m doing is diluting the field. I’ve given it a good run. Now I’m going to get out. And so that’s where the discipline will come. And so we still have a lot of politics to play before we get there.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN