Republican Chris Sununu looks ready to run for governor
Executive Councilor Chris Sununu, a member of the powerful Granite State Republican family, has been touted for higher office for a long time, and it seems that he's decided 2016 will be his year. Sununu confirms he's
seriously looking at a gubernatorial campaign, and says that Democratic incumbent Maggie Hassan's plans will have "no bearing" on his decision. Sununu also just turned over most of his duties running Waterville Valley Resort in order to give himself "more day-to-day flexibility to do a lot more things politically."
Hassan is being recruited to run for U.S. Senate and if she leaves Concord, it would set off a competitive race to succeed her. WMUR's John DiStaso mentions state Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, businessman Fred Tausch, and 2014 nominee Walt Havenstein as potential GOP candidates in a Hassan-free contest. On the Democratic side, Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern is named as a likely competitor. Fellow Executive Councilor Chris Pappas and state Sen. Donna Soucy are also name-dropped, though Pappas may run for Congress instead. A recent PPP survey gave Hassan a 52-35 lead over Sununu in a hypothetical gubernatorial contest, but found that an open seat race would start out as a tossup regardless of which candidates both parties nominated.