New Hampshire governor narrows endorsement list, says Trump has too many 'distractions'
New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu says he has narrowed his coveted endorsement in the first-in-the-nation Granite State primary to a fellow governor.
The extremely popular son of ex-Gov. John Sununu and brother of former Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., told "Your World" Monday he's also essentially written off front-runner former President Donald Trump. (Recently, Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds threw her support behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Hawkeye State.)
Sununu, in his fourth two-year term in Concord, said he's narrowed his choices to DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
"It's definitely one of the three governors. I have a couple of conversations with all of them actually over the next week," he announced. "And we'll make kind of a firm decision in short order."
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However, Sununu also downplayed his endorsement as a formality of paperwork, stating the real value is in the timeframe during which he campaigns for whomever he has picked.
While Trump's absence from Sununu's shortlist is to be expected given the former president's documented disdain for him, Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was also not mentioned by the governor.
Ramaswamy did, however, take a shot at Sununu last month, calling him insufficiently conservative and more interested in being hired as a future cable news pundit in comments reported by the Manchester ABC affiliate.
Sununu told FOX News that New Hampshire is key to "break[ing] the assumption that Donald Trump is somehow just the presumptive nominee," adding that there is still time for the others to catch up.
While Trump leads his challengers in New Hampshire, hovering in the 40s percentage-wise, other observers have pointed to previous cases where the far-and-away front-runner can be upset in the early states.
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In one high-profile case, then-Colorado Sen. Gary Hart stunned his fellow Democrats by upsetting presumptive New Hampshire primary winner and eventual nominee Walter Mondale in 1984; winning 41 percent of the vote.
In 1996, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan also edged out eventual GOP nominee Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan. in the Granite State, while in 1988, former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., won Iowa, with eventual nominee Gov. Michael Dukakis, D-Mass., placing third.
"Most people really won't even decide who they're voting for 'til … the next couple of weeks or maybe even after Christmas, given that this entire campaign has moved so late," Sununu said.
"I think all three governors – Chris, Ron, Nikki – they would all make excellent presidents. There's no question about it. And it's not just about finding the candidate who can win. It's the candidate who's really the best suited to lead this nation; to lead the free world."
As for Trump, Sununu said America needs someone who can focus on inflation and the economy all the time and "not be distracted with legal issues."
The former president has also not been hesitant to criticize Sununu, dissecting a Washington Post op-ed the governor wrote over the summer that laid out why "beating Trump is more important" than running for president himself.
"No, he’s not running for president because he’s polling at zero, and has no chance of winning," Trump said.