CONCORD, N.H. – After eight years at the helm of the battleground state of New Hampshire, Republican Chris Sununu resigned days ago with the highest approval rating of any of the nation’s 50 state governors.
Sununu was elected and re-elected four times. [New Hampshire and neighboring Vermont are the only states in the nation where governors serve two-year terms]praised his team.
“If you want to be a great executive, you have to surround yourself with great people,” Sununu said Wednesday in an exclusive national digital interview with Fox News on his last full day in office.
Asked about his tenure in office, Sununu said, “Like anything else in life, you want to end your life better than you started it. And over the last eight years, we’ve I couldn’t be more proud of how far I’ve come.” . ”
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Former Governor Chris Sununu is honored by Republican Kelly Ayotte during an inauguration ceremony at the State Capitol on Thursday, January 9, 2025 in Concord, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
“So the key is always to find a way to work for the people. That’s it. That’s the job. Regardless of the hand you’re dealt, the politics you’re given, the circumstances around you, you’re results-oriented. There has to be a ‘atmosphere,”’ Sununu said.
“So I think we did pretty well in New Hampshire,” he stressed.
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His successor as governor, fellow Republican and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, agreed.
Ayotte, who called for the continuation of the Sununu policy, praised her predecessor.
“New Hampshire is moving in the right direction, and no one deserves more credit for that than four-term Governor Chris Sununu. Thank you, Governor,” Ayotte said.
Republican Kelly Ayotte takes the oath of office Thursday, January 9, 2025, at the State Capitol in Concord, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Ray Buckley, a fierce critic of Sununu and the longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman, disagreed, pointing to “years of failed Republican policies” under the outgoing governor.
Sununu, who announced last year that he would not seek an unprecedented fifth two-year term as governor, said for several months that he was “very much looking forward to returning to the private sector, perhaps private equity and boards of directors.” I repeated what I had done. ”
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Sununu, 50, who was the nation’s youngest governor when he was first elected in 2016, has also repeatedly ruled out running for the New Hampshire Senate in 2026 for months.
“I have no intention of running for anything right now, and I really don’t have any intention of doing so for at least the next two, four, six years,” he stressed.
Governor Chris Sununu speaks to Fox News Digital on July 11, 2024 in Newfield, New Hampshire. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
However, although Sununu seriously considered running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in 2023 and then decided against it, he did not completely close the door to future re-election.
“You never know what will happen in the future, but it’s a long way off, nothing in the short term, and nothing I’m planning or my family will tolerate,” he said. said.
In recent years, Sununu, a regular on cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, has been considering a formal media role.
“I’m definitely in talks with a few different networks that have asked me to do certain things. And I’m going to continue to do things and help them. To anchor the network a little bit more. Are there any long-term plans for that? Or are you talking about a show or something? I’m interested in that.
Mr. Sununu comes from a distinguished political family, including his father, John H. Sununu, who served three terms as governor and then chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, and his brother, John E. Sununu. (He served as a member of the House of Representatives and the Senate) emphasized that: They don’t necessarily have to run for office, but they definitely want to stay involved, have a voice, support the party, and continue to get rid of their political woes in some way.”
But it is questionable whether the party, once again under the strong control of President-elect Trump, would want Sununu’s support.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and Governor Chris Sununu visit the Winnacunnet High School polling place to greet voters during primary day in Hampton, New Hampshire, on January 23, 2024. (Joe Radle/Getty Images)
Sununu had been a very vocal critic of Trump following the then-president’s failed efforts to overturn his loss to President Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Specifically, she is endorsing Nikki Haley, President Trump’s rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Sununu became the top deputy for Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as U.N. ambassador during Trump’s first administration.
But after Trump announced himself as the Republican presidential nominee, Sununu said he would vote for him.
“Donald Trump is the leader of the party and the voice of the Republican Party. I have to say he’s done a very good job in the first few months,” Sununu told Fox News. “These are the people he’s appointed to these positions. They’re moving quickly. They’re not slowing down. I think the effort with DOGE[President Trump’s planned government efficiency division]has been phenomenal. .”
President-elect Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 16, 2024. (AP/Evan Vucci)
And he praised the politician he had long criticized.
“Give the president credit. He earned it. He won the primary. He earned the votes,” Sununu said. “He set the foundation for success not only in the primary, but really energized a whole new group of working-class Republican voters as the general election progressed. He did a phenomenal job there.”
But he said the Republican Party is bigger than any politician and even President Trump.
“It’s not just Republican Donald Trump or Republican Chris Sununu. The Republican Party is big. Fiscal conservatives like me, social moderates, whatever, the Republican Party is really, really big. Things On the more radical side, everyone has a place and a voice here.”
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And Sununu is very optimistic about the future of the Republican Party.
“It’s a really big party and it’s growing. I mean, it’s really growing and Nov. 5 was a big example of that. So I think where the Republican Party is headed with Donald Trump and other leaders. “J.D. Vance, everyone, please come to the table and put your two cents in and make sure it’s all about America. ”
