Popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire announces decision on re-election in 2024

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu says he won't seek re-election next year to what would have been an unprecedented fifth two-year term steering the key general election battleground state of New Hampshire.

Sununu, the popular governor who's been a staple on the national cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, early last month passed on launching a presidential campaign, after seriously mulling a White House bid for over a year.

On Wednesday, Sununu announced his intention not to run for re-election in 2024 in an email to supporters.

"After discussions with Valerie and the kids and much consideration, I have decided not to run for another term as Governor in 2024," Sununu told supporters. "This was no easy decision as I truly love serving as Governor."

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"Public service should never be a career, and the time is right for another Republican to lead our great state," he added.

Sununu highlighted a list of accomplishments that he said made New Hampshire better off than when he took office — including the lowest unemployment rate, tax cuts, investments in housing, expanded school choice defense of Second Amendment rights and other social programs.

After a hard-fought election to the New Hampshire governor's mansion in 2016 and a single-digit re-election two years later, Sununu easily cruised to a landslide re-election in 2020 and a large double-digit victory last November.

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Asked about his timetable, the governor told Fox News late last month that he would have a decision "this summer. Maybe after the Fourth or something." And pointing to his wife, Valerie, and three children, Sununu added, "I’ve got to talk to Val and the kids. I’ll figure it out. I really don’t know."

Two Democrats have already launched campaigns for governor: Cinde Warmington, the only Democrat on New Hampshire's five-member elected Executive Council, and three-term Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig.

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Three Republicans had been laying the groundwork to launch campaigns if Sununu — the son of former Gov. John H. Sununu and younger brother of former Sen. John E. Sununu — didn't seek re-election.

They are former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who is also a former state attorney general, former state senate president Chuck Morse, and Frank Edelblut, Sununu's education commissioner who came close to defeating Sununu in the 2016 GOP gubernatorial primary.

Morse said he was proud to have worked with Sununu to push forward a conservative agenda and then announced his candidacy to succeed the governor.

"Now that he’s decided not to run for re-election, I’m announcing that I am running for Governor to build on those successes," Morse said in a social media post.

Ayotte complimented Sununu in a statement and added that "I look forward to announcing some big news in the coming days."

Sununu's announcement also triggered a wave of statements of praise from other Republicans and conservative organizations.

"Governor Chris Sununu has been a tireless leader for the Granite State over his four terms as New Hampshire’s Governor, and we thank him for his incredible record of service," Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa, the chair of the Republican Governors Association, said in a statement.

Granite State Democrats, who were unsuccessful in their attempts to defeat the governor at the ballot box, criticized him.

"This announcement today marks an inflection point for our state. We can begin to turn back the clock on the damaging policies enacted under Chris Sununu’s tenure," longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley argued in a statement.