Governor visits county Republicans: Still mum on presidential run, Sununu engages his base

LACONIA — Gov. Chris Sununu took an opportunity to shore up support for his budget proposals and pitch his vision for a more inclusive Republican party to the most conservative part of the state Wednesday night at the county committee’s meeting at Tower Hill Tavern.

For the party committee, the event was a chance to flex the muscles of its new leadership, bringing in a high-profile guest and spotlighting their goal to cast a wider net of membership.

Sununu has been upfront in both action — touring early-voting and battleground states and becoming a regular on the Sunday morning rotation — and in word — responding that he’s “not coy about anything” when asked by an attendee — that he’s seriously considering a run for president. But he insists he’s focused, for now, on marketing a more open party and meeting his goals in the Statehouse — which was reflected by his remarks.

To a crowd of mostly state and county officials and party committee members, Sununu touched on the major points of his proposed budget: lowering licensure regulations, increasing education funding with a focus on charter schools, cutting the state communications tax and maintaining a surplus.

Questions from the audience largely focused on two Statehouse bills making headlines this week — SB 272, this session’s parental rights bill, and HB 619, which would prohibit “gender transition procedures” for minors and legalize conversion therapy.

Sununu expressed general support for the aims of those bills without promising his signature.

“Fundamentally, those bills have great stuff in them. There's no question,” Sununu responded to a query about whether he’d sign HB 619. “Here's the problem. They're going to change three or four times before they potentially get to my desk.” Parental rights, he continued, are a priority, but he couldn’t commit to signing any bill before knowing its full contents.

During both his remarks and the Q&A period, Sununu urged party officials to revamp their messaging.

“I'm not here telling you exactly what the message has to be, but appreciate that we're not great at it,” Sununu said, noting that Republicans lost seats in the Statehouse this year. “When we stay galvanized around a singular message, when we stay focused on those core things that we're really good at, like limited government and local control and low taxes ... these core things are what can get a lot of independents on our side.”

With high proportions of undeclared voters — who are likely to lean into the Republican primary in 2024 given President Joe Biden’s near-assured renomination — the New Hampshire primary would be a test of whether the “potential Republicans” Sununu has branded himself as uniquely suited to court believe he can actualize an inclusive Republican party.

“People want to be part of your tent when they know that you're putting them first,” Sununu said in an interview after the meeting. “Whether you're really right-wing conservative, whether you're more independent minded, whether you're a moderate Republican, I don't care. Everybody wants to know that their voice matters even more" than the government's.

To that end, Sununu criticized members of his party who “just want to focus on the woke stuff.” 

“I hate cancel culture,” he said. “But it isn't government that's going to solve that. You need to connect with the issues not that drive us but that drive the citizens. That's where you get a lot of connection.”

When asked about how the New Hampshire Republican brand contrasts with different party flavors nationwide, such as in Florida, Sununu emphasized, “You’ve got to remind Republicans that we should never be trying to outdo Democrats at their own game of big-government solutions.”

Sununu’s remarks included what has become a familiar refrain, that the 2024 nominee should be “the most conservative candidate that can win in November [2024] and get stuff done in ’25.”

For Sununu, should he run, the first-in-the-nation primary would test whether he is that candidate. 

As governor, Sununu has built an enduring mandate on his ability to both appeal to independents and keep the core Republican base behind him. As a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump who self-identifies as pro-choice, the defining question of his potential candidacy is whether that appeal translates to a national electorate. He would have to both win over independents and impress more conservative voters — like the ones in Belknap County.

Around the bar at Tower Hill, as the governor mingled after the meeting, attendees pondered his potential run. Some were all for it — even lamenting the thought of not having him back in Concord. Others were eager to see him, nominee or not, as an established national player. As many, while speaking positively of him, said he wasn’t ready.

County Republican Chair Gregg Hough, whose team unseated former leadership this winter, described the event as a kind of coming-out party for a county committee that, like Sununu, aims to bring more people into the fold. 

“It’s great to have this sort of feel good thing to get us started,” Hough said, gesturing to the jovial atmosphere of the bar. “It’s nice that he wanted to come here, and having the governor is an absolute bonus that shows the new path we’re on.”