Sununu: GOP candidates must be ‘willing to swing’ at Trump to win in 2024

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) on Saturday argued that in order for another GOP candidate to win in 2024, they have to be willing to criticize the current frontrunner: former President Trump.

“This can’t be our candidate, because it ain’t gonna win in November,” Sununu said in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, later adding “That reality is really coming to bear… All of these candidates have to start hitting this guy. You can’t run against somebody and be 20 points down but not be willing to talk about him.”

Reacting to a recent University of New Hampshire poll showing Trump would garner only 37 percent of likely Republican primary voters, Sununu said it proves there is potential for another candidate to take the lead in the Granite State.

““That’s 60% of the voters right now that are not with Trump in New Hampshire,” he said. “I think that number will grow even more and more.”

His remarks come as many of Trump’s opponents — including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — have seemingly tiptoed around criticizing the former president. Sununu on Saturday said it would likely come down to the debate stage.

“Either you’re willing to swing, you’re willing to give the punch and take the punch and show leadership or or you’re kowtowing,” he said, arguing that pulling a Trump voter away is unlikely to happen. “I don’t understand the politics of it, because you’re not going to get a Trump voter. Right? They’re with Trump.”

“So if the base is with Trump, the base is for Trump. He’s still going to be in the race,” Sununu continued. “So you got to find your own path. And I think Chris [Christie] was right. You gotta go through them. You can’t go around.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arizona Gov. Asa Hutchinson have been the most vocal candidates against Trump thus far in the race.

The New Hampshire governor said the real key to the election isn’t getting into the race, which he called “easy,” but coming out on top. Asked what the candidates risk by criticizing the former president, Sununu said “nothing.”

“They risk upsetting a voter that they’re not going to get in the first place. Right?” he quipped. “Those voters will come back in the general election.”

Sununu, who announced last month that he wouldn’t challenge Trump in 2024, also made the decision to not run for another term as governor, capping off weeks of speculation.

“I’ve been here going on eight years now. I still have 18 months to go to be sure. But I kind of wanted folks to know where I was… It’s not a public career. It’s called public service,” he said Saturday, adding “I can win a fifth term. I mean, that’s, that’s nice to know. But you got to kind of hopefully leave things better than you found it, give somebody else an opportunity to run.”

He also sidestepped questions on whether he would run as an independent or on a third-party ticket in the future.

“No, Nothing I’m looking at,” Sununu said of right now, but left the question open to future possibilities.