President Trump said he would support former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu if he launches a campaign for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2026. “He came to the Oval Office and I met with Chris Sununu and I support him fully. I hope he runs. He’s been very nice to me over the last year,” Trump said. WATCH: Just in: President Trump encourages @ChrisSununu to run in the 2026 New Hampshire Senate Race: “He came to the Oval Office and I met with Chris Sununu and I support him fully. I hope he runs. He's been very nice to me over the last year." pic.twitter.com/MCULIUhHFE — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) April 7, 2025 From The Hill: Sununu has been a regular Trump critic, and the former governor endorsed Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP primary before eventually backing Trump once he became the presumptive nominee. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the senior Democratic senator from New Hampshire, announced last month that she will not run for reelection in 2026, setting up what is expected to be a highly competitive race. Former Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly carried New Hampshire over Trump last November. Sununu previously said he is not interested in representing his state in Washington, but he has more recently signaled he is open to running for Senate. On the Democratic side, Rep. Chris Pappas (N.H.) has announced his candidacy to replace Shaheen. House Democrat Announces Senate Campaign “I’m in. Today I’m announcing my campaign for U.S. Senate because New Hampshire needs a fighter who gets things done. Let’s do this,” Pappas said. WATCH: I’m in. Today I’m announcing my campaign for U.S. Senate because New Hampshire needs a fighter who gets things done. Let’s do this. pic.twitter.com/bAyE5u4LSk — Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) April 3, 2025 "Chris Sununu went to the White House to nab an endorsement while Trump was destroying the economy and pushing devastating cuts to Medicaid. Apparently the cost of a Trump endorsement is selling out New Hampshire. Hope it was worth it," Pappas commented. Chris Sununu went to the White House to nab an endorsement while Trump was destroying the economy and pushing devastating cuts to Medicaid. Apparently the cost of a Trump endorsement is selling out New Hampshire. Hope it was worth it. https://t.co/uigBQOyPAY — Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) April 7, 2025 Fox News reports: Earlier this year, Sununu said in a Fox News Digital interview that "Donald Trump is the head of the party, and he's the voice of the Republican Party, and I got to say, I think he's doing a pretty darn good job in the first couple months." Regarding a potential 2026 Senate run for a seat Republicans are aiming to flip from blue to red as they hope to expand their current 53-47 majority in the chamber, Sununu told Fox News Digital last month that while "the door’s open" to running, he emphasized "it's not open a lot, to be honest." Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to four straight two-year terms as governor, touted that "I have no doubt I can win." The former governor’s comments in recent interviews are a switch from last year, when he repeatedly said he would not seek to run for the Senate in 2026. Four years ago, Sununu expressed interest in running for the Senate against his predecessor as governor, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022. The popular governor was heavily courted by national Republicans to take on Hassan, but on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor, upsetting many Republicans in the nation's capital. Additionally, he heavily criticized the Senate. "They debate and talk and nothing gets done," he said at the time.