New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) on Saturday urged the Republican Party to stop supporting “unelectable” candidates in primaries, following the GOP’s disappointing performance in the midterm elections.
“Candidate quality matters,” Sununu said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual meeting, which began Friday and is continuing throughout the weekend. “Holy cow, have we learned that one the tough way.”
“I got a great policy for the Republican Party,” he continued. “Let’s stop supporting crazy, unelectable candidates in our primaries and start getting behind winners that can close the deal in November.”
Despite predictions of a “red wave” in the midterms, Republicans failed to take the Senate and eked out only a small majority in the House.
Sununu has been vocal in criticizing his own party in the aftermath of this month’s elections.
The New Hampshire governor placed blame for the disappointing results on Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) last week, saying their comments on abortion and Social Security, respectively, cost Republicans in the midterms.
Sununu’s comments on Saturday echoed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) remarks in August in which he pointed to “candidate quality” as a factor that could hurt Republican candidates vying for Senate seats.