Ex-GOP senator clears hurdle in crucial comeback bid as Republicans try to flip key Senate seat

Former Sen. John E. Sununu on Tuesday won the GOP Senate nomination in swing state New Hampshire, in a race that may determine if Republicans keep control of the chamber in the midterm elections.

Sununu defeated former Sen. Scott Brown, the Associated Press reports, in the showdown to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the first woman in the nation's history elected governor and senator.

Republicans haven't won a Senate election in New Hampshire in 16 years, but they view the open Democrat-held seat as a top flip opportunity in the fight to hold their slim majority in the midterms.

Sununu will now face off in the general election against four-term Rep. Chris Pappas, who topped socialist candidate and scientist Karishma Manzur, for the Democratic nomination.

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"When it comes to standing up for New Hampshire, I take a back seat to no one. I'm not worried about reelection. I don't -- I'm not running for any other job. I don't want to make anyone in Washington happy. I know that as your senator, I'll have one job: stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day," Sununu told supporters at his victory celebration at the McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester, N.H.

Sununu, the son of former Gov. John H. Sununu and older brother to former Gov. Chris Sununu, is a former congressman and senator who is aiming to return to the Senate.

President Donald Trump in February endorsed Sununu, a longtime GOP Trump critic, over Brown, one of Trump's first-term ambassadors. Sununu was also backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Brown charged in a Fox News Digital interview that Sununu's "got 70 endorsements on his website, but he doesn't have the president's. He never talks about it. He's embarrassed by it."

"I've had the MAGA base and a lot of those so-called traditional Republicans for almost over a year," Brown highlighted. "Johnny came lately, and he's here, and now he thinks everyone's going to just vote for him. That's not how it works. You got to go earn it."

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Brown claimed that Sununu is "beholden" to Trump, Thune, the Senate leadership, and outside groups.

"He owes them everything. He doesn't work for the people of New Hampshire," Brown charged.

But Sununu told Fox News Digital, "I'll have one job stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day... I don't need to make anyone in Washington happy. It's all about our state, our communities, our economy, and our small businesses."

Asked by about Trump's endorsement, Sununu didn't mention the president's name but highlighted his local endorsements, saying "we've received tremendous support in New Hampshire... we've got great momentum at the grassroots level."

Trump last week said he'd be heading out on the campaign trail to help fellow Republicans running in the midterms.

Asked if he'd like Trump to join him on the Granite State campaign trail, Sununu answered, "I don't need anyone from outside New Hampshire to campaign for me. I've said that from the very beginning."

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The former senator also disagreed with the Trump administration's trade war with neighboring Canada, saying "I don't think it's the right thing to pick a trade war with Canada. They're a great trading partner for New Hampshire."

Republicans are facing a rough political climate heading into the midterms, due persistent inflation, high gas prices fueled by what polls indicate is an unpopular war with Iran, and Trump's underwater approval ratings.

But Sununu, who defeated Shaheen in 2002 to win election to the Senate but lost a rematch to her six years later, said he's "focused on the right things, affordability, bringing down the cost of living on housing, health care, and energy, a reform agenda."