Former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire, who is running in 2026 to return to the Senate, is interviewed by Fox News Digital in Rye, N.H., on Oct. 24, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
"John Sununu is exactly the kind of principled leader New Hampshire needs in the U.S. Senate," AFP Action Director Nathan Nascimento said in a statement. "His deep roots in the Granite State and proven record of advancing limited government principles, cutting wasteful spending, and driving smart regulatory reform make him uniquely qualified to represent New Hampshire’s values in Washington."
The endorsement by AFP Action is the third in 2026 Senate races, following their backing of former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley in North Carolina and former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, who's making his second straight Senate run. But it's the group's first endorsement in a Senate race where President Donald Trump remains neutral to date.
Sununu is a former three-term representative who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire's 2002 Senate election. But the senator lost to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch.
Shaheen announced earlier this year that she wouldn't seek re-election in next year's midterms and Republicans are working to flip the seat as they aim to not only defend but expand their 53-47 Senate majority.
Now, after nearly two decades in the private sector, Sununu is returning to the campaign trail in New England's only swing state.
Former Sen. Scott Brown, who launched a Republican Senate campaign in New Hampshire in June, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on July 4, 2025, in Exeter, N.H. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )
"Our campaign will have the necessary resources for the long haul, and allow me to campaign the only way I know how: relentless hard work and a focus on retail politics that Granite State voters expect," Brown said after Fox News first reported a couple of weeks ago that he hauled in roughly $1.2 million in fundraising during his first three months as a candidate.
AFP Action's national and New Hampshire political teams met with both candidates before deciding to endorse Sununu.
"John E. Sununu is an unapologetic and proven champion of New Hampshire values like limited accountable government, personal responsibility and free markets. He is the perfect antidote for what’s wrong with Washington today and will make the Granite State proud in the U.S. Senate," AFP regional director Greg Moore said.
AFP, the influential and deep-pocketed grassroots network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, highlights that in the 2024 election cycle, it and AFP Action engaged in a record-breaking 647 races, knocking on 20 million doors, and reaching 30 million voters. And the group says they expect "to significantly exceed those 2024 metrics across the board" in the 2026 cycle.
"We will put our unrivaled grassroots operation in full support of this effort and will work to ensure that this race becomes about the issues that matter most to New Hampshire residents and not about the political noise that has become a feature of politics lately," Moore emphasized.
Republicans are working to expand their 53-47 majority in next year's midterms. And Shaheen's seat in New Hampshire is a top GOP target, along with battleground Michigan, where Democrat Sen. Gary Peters isn't running for re-election, and Georgia, where Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff faces a rough road to securing a second six-year term in the Senate.
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"We believe that this will be among the most competitive races nationally this year, and we feel that AFP Action can make a huge impact in getting John E. Sununu back in the Senate," Moore said.
The winner of next September's GOP primary will likely face off in the general election with four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, who is the frontrunner for his party's Senate nomination.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-conservative-group-jumps-republican-primary-fight-race-flip-key-swing-state-senate-seat