John E. Sununu
John Sununu (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. Senate to represent New Hampshire. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Sununu served in the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2003. He won election to the United States Senate in 2002, defeating incumbent Bob Smith (R) in the Republican primary 54% to 45%, and defeating then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) 51% to 46% in the general election.[1] Shaheen defeated Sununu in a 2008 rematch 52% to 48%.[2] On Oct. 22, 2025, Sununu announced his candidacy for the same Senate seat after Shaheen announced her retirement.[3]
Sununu was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from New Hampshire. Sununu was one of four delegates from New Hampshire bound by state party rules to support John Kasich at the convention.[4] To read more, click here.
Sununu is the son of former Gov. John H. Sununu (R) and the brother of Gov. Chris Sununu (R).[5]
Elections
2026
See also: United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. Senate New Hampshire
The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. Senate New Hampshire on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Karishma Manzur (D) | ||
 | Chris Pappas (D) | |
 | Scott Brown (R) | |
 | Tejasinha Sivalingam (R) | |
 | John Sununu (R) | |
| Matt Giovonizzi (Independent) | ||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jeanne Shaheen (D)
- Dan Innis (R)
Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from the Federal Elections Commission. That information will be published here once it is available.
Delegate rules
In New Hampshire, presidential candidates were required to submit lists of preferred delegates prior to the state primary election on February 9, 2016. After the primary, if a candidate was allocated any delegates, he or she was allowed to select an official delegate slate from the list they submitted prior to the primary. New Hampshire delegates were bound on all ballots. Delegates were to be released and unbound if a candidate "withdraws" from the race.
New Hampshire primary results
| New Hampshire Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
 Donald Trump |
35.6% | 100,735 | 11 | |
| John Kasich | 15.9% | 44,932 | 4 | |
| Ted Cruz | 11.7% | 33,244 | 3 | |
| Jeb Bush | 11.1% | 31,341 | 3 | |
| Marco Rubio | 10.6% | 30,071 | 1 | |
| Chris Christie | 7.4% | 21,089 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 4.2% | 11,774 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 2.3% | 6,527 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul* | 0.7% | 1,930 | 0 | |
| Total Write-ins | 0.5% | 1,398 | 0 | |
| Jim Gilmore | 0% | 134 | 0 | |
| Totals | 283,175 | 22 | ||
| Source: New Hampshire Secretary of State | ||||
*Rand Paul dropped out of the race on February 3, 2016, but his name remained on the ballot in New Hampshire.[6]
Delegate allocation
New Hampshire had 23 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, six were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's two congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; each candidate who won at least 10 percent of the statewide vote was entitled to receive a share of New Hampshire's district delegates.[7][8]
Of the remaining 17 delegates, 14 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; each candidate who won at least 10 percent of the statewide vote was entitled to receive a share of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[7][8]
See also
2026 Elections
Footnotes
- ↑ Seacoast Online, "Sununu unseats Sen. Smith, will battle Shaheen," September 11, 2022
- ↑ Politico, "Shaheen ousts Sununu," November 4, 2008
- ↑ Politico, "John E. Sununu jumps into New Hampshire Senate race," October 22, 2025
- ↑ NH SOS, "Republican Delegates and Alternates to 2016 National Convention," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ NHPR, "Growing Up Sununu: A Familiar Name Brings Both Benefits and Baggage to the Ballot," October 27, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Rand Paul drops out of White House race," February 3, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
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