Lewandowski decides against Senate bid

President Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski announced Tuesday he will not run for the Senate in New Hampshire after flirting with a bid for most of 2019.

In a series of tweets, Lewandowski said he’s “certain” he would have won the GOP primary and defeated Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), but that he’ll instead focus on his family and reelecting Trump.

“NH needs a US Senator who will put our citizens first and not illegal aliens; one who will support pro-growth policies to keep the Trump economy strong; one who will support strict constitutionalist judges; and one who will fight for our values, not those of Washington, DC,” Lewandowski said. “Accordingly, I will be making an endorsement in the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate in the near future to ensure we defeat Jeanne Shaheen in 2020.” 

Lewandowski was a longtime GOP political operative in New Hampshire before he was put in charge of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. He was removed from the campaign after a video showed him grabbing a female reporter to block her from getting to Trump.

The president had praised Lewandowski’s potential Senate bid, saying he would make a “great” addition to the Senate, but Trump never officially endorsed him.

A recent Emerson University survey found Lewandowski would have entered the GOP primary race with a double-digit lead over the other contenders, led by former state House Speaker Bill O’Brien and retired Gen. Donald Bolduc.

“Every Republican running for Senate in New Hampshire has stood proudly with Corey Lewandowski and Donald Trump in their efforts to take away health care from tens of thousands of Granite Staters and reverse Roe vs. Wade. While Messner, Bolduc, and O’Brien tear each other down in the contentious primary Lewandowski has left behind,” said Josh Marcus-Blank, the spokesman for the Democratic Party in New Hampshire. “Senator Shaheen will continue working across the aisle for New Hampshire, leading efforts to lower prescription drug costs and making sure veterans and their families get the benefits they deserve.”

Shaheen is seeking a third term in the Senate in 2020. She won her 2014 race by just over 3 points.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton carried New Hampshire in 2016 by fewer than 3,000 votes, and the Granite State is expected to be a presidential battleground once again in 2020.