Sununu says he’s not considering 2024 presidential run ‘right now’

Newly reelected New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) on Wednesday told CNN he’s not considering mounting a 2024 presidential campaign “right now.”

“Right now, I’m not,” Sununu told Jake Tapper when asked about his plans during an appearance on the network. 

Sununu, who supported former President Trump’s two presidential campaigns but broke with him by declaring Joe Biden as president-elect in November 2020, has publicly advised Trump to not announce a 2024 bid before Christmas.

“Look, a lot of people are talking about this, there’s no doubt,” Sununu told Tapper.

“But I always want to work on the priority, and that is what you just brought up, changing the message,” he continued. “Am I going to travel across this country and start hopefully inspiring a younger generation understand the benefits of good fiscal conservatism, the benefits of being smart about these issues and getting engaged in public service? Totally, I love doing that.”

Sununu won his fourth term as governor this week, garnering a roughly 16-point lead as of Wednesday evening.

He had declined to mount a challenge to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), who was long seen as a target for Republicans in the midterms, opting to run for reelection instead. 

Many Sununu voters appeared to also cast ballots for Hassan, who leads her Republican opponent by roughly 9 points as of Wednesday evening.

During recent national media interviews, Sununu has repeatedly laughed off Trump’s teasing of a “big announcement” next week, which is widely speculated to be his 2024 presidential bid announcement.

Polls have consistently shown Trump holds a strong lead among rumored GOP presidential candidates.

“Announcing you’re going to run for office between an election and Christmas is a terrible idea,” Sununu told CBS’s Margaret Brennan on Sunday.

On Election Day, Sununu told reporters, “My sense is the former president needs better advisers if that’s really what his strategy’s going to be.”

Trump appeared unbothered by the GOP’s worse-than-expected results in the midterms and repeatedly touted the number of his endorsed candidates who won their races throughout the day on Wednesday.