president Donald Trump On Sunday, he endorsed Republican Trump’s longtime critic, former Sen. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire, over one of his first-term ambassadors, former Sen. Scott Brown, in a key Senate race that is one of the few that could decide the Senate majority in the midterm elections.

Sununu has been praised by Trump as “America’s first patriot” who “will work tirelessly to advance our America first agenda.” Top Senate Republicans believe that he is the strongest candidate to unseat the longtime Democratic senator. ShaneHe will retire at the end of the year rather than seek reelection to a fourth six-year term.

“John E. Sununu has my complete and total endorsement – he will not let you down. Make America Great Again – elect John E. Sununu,” Trump emphasized in a post on social media.

Sununu is a former three-term congressman who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen ran for the New Hampshire Senate in 2002. But the Senators lost to Shaheen in a 2008 rematch.

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Former New Hampshire Republican Senator John E. Sununu in a Fox News digital interview on September 15, 2025 in Rye, New Hampshire (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)

“I want to thank the president for his support and the thousands of Granite State residents who have supported me,” Sununu said after receiving Trump’s endorsement.

The endorsement would further boost Sununu, who enjoys polling and fundraising advantages. More than Brown.

Following Trump’s endorsement, the Senate Leadership Fund, which has aligned itself with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, said on X that “John Sununu is the clear choice to be elected. New HampshireCritical endorsement of President Trump ends primary campaign for next U.S. Senator. “

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But Brown has no plans to quit just yet.

“I have always believed that the people of New Hampshire are the ultimate authority on our future and they should choose between candidates seeking to win their support,” he said in a statement.

He apparently cast doubt on Sununu’s MAGA credentials, adding, “I’m running to ensure that our America First agenda is led by someone who sees this mission not as a career path, but as the continuation of a lifelong commitment to service.”

Former Sen. Scott Brown, who launched his Republican Senate campaign in New Hampshire in June, gives a Fox News digital interview in Exeter, New Hampshire, July 4, 2025 (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

Brown emphasized, “My priorities for New Hampshire remain clear: a stronger economy, secure borders, reliable and affordable energy, and better health care for our veterans. This mission has always been about you, not me. Let’s keep working!”

Sununu is a brand name in New Hampshire politics. His father, John H. Sununu, was a former governor and later White House chief of staff to then-President George H.W. Bush. One of his brothers is a former governor. Chris SununuWon election and was reelected to four two-year terms to lead the Granite State.

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But Sununu has long supported Trump’s rivals. He served as national co-chairman of then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s 2016 Republican presidential campaign, but Kasich declined to endorse Trump as the party’s nominee.

And Sununu, and then-Gov. Chris Sununu, former ambassador and former South Carolina governor. Nikki Haley She is vying for the nomination against Trump in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary.

On the eve of the nation’s first presidential primary, the former senator wrote an opinion piece titled “Donald Trump is a Loser” that was published in the New Hampshire Union-Leader, the state’s largest daily newspaper.

Brown endorsed Trump ahead of his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory, which secured him the Republican presidential nomination and ultimately the White House. Brown later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who will retire at the end of 2025, speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC, on November 9, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Some in New Hampshire’s MAGA base immediately rejected the president’s endorsement of Sununu, calling it “a slap in the face to longtime Trump grassroots supporters.”

A group of MAGA activists posted on

Brown officially launched his Senate campaign in June after more than six months of reaching out to grassroots supporters around the state. He raised about $1 million in his first three months as a candidate.

Sununu joined the race in late October with the support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate Republican campaign arm.

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NRSC Chairman Sen. Tim Scott said at the time that Senate Republicans “fully support” Sununu.

Since then, Sununu has received the support of a majority of Senate Republicans and New Hampshire Republican leaders.

Seats in New Hampshire and vacant Democratic-controlled seats in Michigan are the NRSC’s two top targets this year as they aim to expand their 53-47 majority in the House of Representatives. Georgia is another top target for the NRSC, where Republicans view Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff as vulnerable.

Sununu has raised more than twice as much as Brown over the past three months, and the latest New Hampshire polls show Sununu leading Brown by double digits in the Republican primary, which isn’t until September.

New Hampshire Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Chris Pappas during a Fox News digital interview in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July 4, 2025 (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

Pappas, a four-term congressman who represents the eastern half of the state, raised more money in fundraising during the fourth quarter of 2025 than Sununu and Brown combined.

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The latest polls show Pappas leading Sununu by single digits and Brown by double digits in a hypothetical general election matchup.

Pappas is the clear front-runner for the party’s nomination, with New Hampshire Democratic Rules Committee member Karishma Manzur also entering the race.