Welcome to News nine Plus politics everyone. I'm W. M. U. R. Political
director Adam Sexton joined by john Distaso, the esteemed dean of the
political press corps uh here in new Hampshire. Uh we're at the Bridges
House. Rarely if ever do we get to be in this wonderful historic setting. And
we've had some major news here today. If you're a political insider watching
this thing, you know that governor Sununu has opted to run for 1/4 term as
governor and not for the US Senate. Big shock waves through the national
political scene. But john let's pivot right away to what happens next first
in the U. S. Senate race. Who are some of the big Republican names right now?
Who are commenting to you talking to you about what their plans are or are
not. Right. Well so far today I've got to uh to knows one from scott Brown.
Former senator scott Brown who said that no he's not interested in running
for the U. S. Senate even though governor is not because he's totally
invested ah with with his wife's congressional race. She's gail huff
Brown as a candidate for as many know for the first C. D. And then just a few
minutes ago um we heard from sources close to former senator kelly a uh who
had been rumored to be a candidate for governor if chris Sununu ran for the
Senate. And the word is from sources close to her who I I believe she will
not seek any office in 2022. So the search is on I would think uh there's
some other names that we're both going to be trying to nail down and see what
we can get come up with. But one name that comes to mind. And again, I don't
know that he was prepared for. This is the state senate president chuck morse
who had been thinking about running for governor also and possibly for the
first cd first congressional district, but he now becomes a potential
candidate for the U. S. Senate. And you know, who are some names have you heard
before? We get to more speculation. I'm just, you know, curious for your
perspective on, you know, the idea that, you know, obviously the biggest Of the
big names was Chris Sununu with the high approval rating, you know, the
COVID, uh, you know, people think he did a good job through the COVID-19
pandemic. All the poll numbers were there. This was looking like a seat
that would be a Republican pick up potentially in November of 2022. So his
name comes off the Board Scott Brown comes off the board that he ran in 2014.
Still fairly well known checks the box as a trump supporter. Um, you know,
potentially had that cachet to be able to fundraise right away. Then kelly
yachts name comes off the board. This is really a stunning development, isn't
it? The idea that the republicans lose in the span of a couple of hours, the
three biggest names who could run for us Senate. That's exactly right. And
you know, chris Sununu made it clear that he felt that he could have beaten
Maggie Hassan. Of course it was a year, a year from the election and Maggie
Hassan is often underestimated. So that be that as it may, uh, he was just not
cut out, he said, and I think those of us who followed him can understand that
to be a legislator. So now you have to look for someone who perhaps has been a
legislator or is more of a fit too to be in the, in the United States Senate.
But more importantly, being able to collect and attract the type of
fundraising that chris Sununu would have attracted immediately if he had
just announced for the Senate? I mean, he would have already had, I don't know,
millions of dollars starting from scratch millions of dollars in his, in
his workshop. So in terms of shaking up the landscape, I mean, as as you said,
I've been around a while and I I'm hard pressed to recall a day where we, where
we've had news like this unexpected news right now. So wide open. This
means we're probably going to hear some new names, fresh faces. This is really
a chance for a lot of people to step up and prove themselves as candidates for
a moment though. Can we just mourn him not having this sort of like from the
get go marquee Senate race of a Sununu versus a candidate like Maggie Hassan
who is in that first term in the Senate. I would just like to make a terrible
analogy, I love making terrible football analogies here. The stylistic
differences between Sununu and Hassan were so stark, you know, and it was
fascinated if anybody who would have ever hung around the executive council
when when someone was on the executive council and Hasten was governor, she
was much less um guarded in her messaging, She was, you know, she's a
brilliant attorney, very smart person who was willing to engage in a little
bit more back and forth as a candidate. She is much more reserved and
disciplined in her messaging and what she says. But their interactions on the
executive council were great back and forth in terms of people who love
politics to watch sort of that back and forth of of two different perspectives.
They interacted a lot. And so I guess we're going to have a little brief, you
know, like you know, like the world's smallest violin, you know, playing a
sad song for us here of not being able to see that play out, but you know, the
bad football analogy, I wanted to make, you know, Sununu as he was talking
about, he's a freewheeling style, this was like Brett Farve basically throwing
the ball around all over the place where's Maggie Hassan is more of a
controlled offense, It was going to grind it out three yards and a cloud of
dust. And I think it was gonna be a real test of, you know, who could win
in the end in terms of a race like that, you know, where where you have those,
you know, Sununu is willing to go go deep, throw those long balls, maybe
he's going to throw an interception, whereas Hacen would be disciplined and
just playing it by the book every time. Who knows? We'll never know now, I
agree with that, that analogy that that's that's great. I mean, she
she was a much more obviously was not like chris Sununu as governor, but she
was much more, I don't mean this as an insult democrats, but she was much more
um relaxed. It seemed like just spontaneous as governor and now one of
the raps against her is that she's very, very controlled, She does work down
there. It's not that he's not working, but her message is a very controlled
message. And so now who will she end up running against? I mean, I never ruled
Maggie housing out to begin with. Honestly, even against chris Sununu, I
know said he would have entered the race being the favorite, but now, I
mean they've got to be feeling pretty good today, right? I mean, and the fact
that there's no exactly like we mentioned that these big dominoes fall,
no big name is gonna come forward, still structurally, it's tough for a
party that has the presidency, both houses of Congress. You know, it's
almost impossible. I think 2002 was the last time President George W Bush
actually made some gains. Um you know, coming off of 9 11, it was a little bit
different situation, but historically the party in power loses uh in the
midterms loses seats one way or the other. And so that's traditionally the
way things go. Let's talk though, john a little bit about, you know, some of
the names you mentioned, you know, could chuck Morris jump in, we see some
republicans, you know, like the name like Jeff cousins in C. D. To do. We
think that maybe somebody like him, he has a little bit of a national security
background. He might look at this now and this is just us just talking here,
we haven't spoken to anybody related to his campaign. Does somebody like that?
Look at this and say, hey, my district might be getting much more difficult to
navigate uh and redistricting. Maybe I should jump up and try the U. S. Senate.
Well, certainly if when when the republicans rolled out their
congressional map, but week ago that we talked about and I won't belabor that.
But long story short is that that map, I think I made the climb for Jeff
cousins that much steeper and he might actually have a better shot of trying
to run a statewide race. Of course he is the first time candidate for
anything. And uh, it's really tough to just come out of nowhere and running
the U. S. Senate race. But somebody's gonna have to do that because you have
to do that. And they're going to have to try to attract the same excitement,
same level, close to the same level excitement among the big, you know, the
leadership in Washington, the money people in Washington and throughout the
country that chris Sununu did. And that's a that's gonna be a tall order.
So, um, I think by the time we meet next week again on this adam, we're
going to have a much more definitive look at what's what the lineup is gonna
look like on both sides. Because the other side of this is who's going to
run for governor against chris Sununu. Great segue because all along and uh,
you know, Education Commissioner frank able Blue was really making no secret,
uh, you know, publicly, even though he wasn't saying I'm running for governor,
all of the moves being made, He and former senator kelly at looked like
they were heading towards the battle for governor. Now that's off the table
with Governor Sununu running for reelection. So frank, it'll Blue has to
wonder what he's gonna do next. And then also, uh, a theoretical race for
governor. Chris Pappas, right? That was another name that was talked about as
maybe, you know, if the district and cd one gets too difficult for him uh for
any democrat for that matter, that maybe he would take a, you know, an eye
on an open governor's race seat that's now out of the question for him. So
interested for your take on first frank, it'll blue. And then Chris Pappas. Yeah,
frank. It'll Blue. I mean, I think that he was all set to run for governor. I
mean, I have no great inner line too frank. It'll Blue, but you just watch
his posts the places he's been, the message that he's been delivering and
he really seemed to be setting himself up for, uh, run for governor. And it
would have been a very interesting primary with him and senator out, uh,
you know, a real hard line conservative against the more establishment
republicans. Where would frank? It'll Bluebell now, would he run for the U. S.
Senate? I suppose that's possible at this point. Uh, there there's other
names, other names that I've, I've thought of that have been in the mix
throughout the year. One another one came up is um former Commissioner of
HHS JOHN stevens Stephen, not in, that's on the end. And uh, I'm not sure
john is very, uh, I know he's been interested in getting back into
politics, but I also know that he's running a very successful business. So
that remains to be seen. So there's another name you brought up real quick.
He brought up Chris Pappas, there were a lot of democrats who are going to
really not put pressure on them. But you know, recruit him lobbying to run
for governor. If Sununu did not, they may still try to do that because he may
still be the strongest candidate. I think that counselor warming to nine
Cindy warming turn from right here in Concord uh would would have been a I
think she would have this is just me talking. I think she would have run for
governor. Sununu did not now, would she run against Chris Sununu? That's it.
Alright well would she run against chris Pappas in a primary? And then
would she even want to run against Chris Sununu in a general? Uh that's
that's more questionable. Yeah. Everybody's sorting things out this
morning. We do want to point out there is a declared US senate candidate
already in Don Bolduc the big winner of the morning really, you know that he's
sitting here now sort of you know uh with an open field and really to
capitalize there. He's spoken to president trump on the phone. Um We'll
see what happens with that. You know like he's been working hard and really
capturing a base there um of people that have been activated against
vaccines and vaccine mandates so we'll see what he can do with that. But it's
a narrow slice that he's going for right now, it's gonna be tough if a
bigger name gets in and then gets that big Washington support and the general
for all of his, his resume. And he has an amazing resume. He hasn't, he hasn't
raised, he's raised like $60,000. I mean, there are state Senate seats that
uh Raise more than $60,000. He's got he just hasn't been able to get that
attraction now, will he now, because Serena is out,
it's possible to love it or hate it. I mean, money in the U. S. Senate race is
the coin of the realm, literally even here, even in new Hampshire, a small
state like this, because, you know, the market is there's there's an expensive
market uh in many in many ways. And okay, so, I mean, you've got to read
this would have been a $150 million dollar race with all the money on both
sides together? I think it still could be a a very expensive race. First.
We've got to figure out that candidate and you and I will add, um I have no
doubt about that. We've got a couple of minutes here just wrapping it up, john,
I mean, as you mentioned, you know, you've been covering politics for 40
years here in new Hampshire. You know, this is this right now, we're at this
kind of wide open phase right here, even though the governor is going to
run for re election right now, Just can you speak to the aspect of there really
is just this sort of like anything is possible here in the next 12 months.
It's always been the next in line, next, next step up really on the Republican
side, but also on the democratic side and I think the democrats now try to
stay away from really contested primaries. They did have one last year.
Um that's becoming more and more difficult because of the progressive
nature, but it's, you know, it's, it's a totally different world. Anything
goes there may be some candidate out there or a person out there activists
out there who is saying, why not me? And and now you can do that. You can do
that just through social media. You don't need to start with a lot of money
eventually. You do, but you don't need to start that way. So it's not like,
you know, I hate to say it, but it's not like the old days where you would
just have the next or you knew who the next person, you know,
Senator Greg for instance, Judd Gregg start executive councils, you could see
it coming a mile away. Congress
Governor, U. S. Senate, I mean, and then the next, the next one step up,
john E Sununu being that one. So yeah, it's fascinating situation. And the
governor also mentioned how he wants to be a player in the 2024 presidential
primary, which we'd be remiss if he didn't, you know, this is a long way
out in the future, potentially one last little note here,
Governor Sununu was basically asked by our former colleague James pedal that
you know, I did, could he run for president someday and he didn't really
tamp that down at all. Clearly he wants a national profile, international role
in the party. Who knows what that looks like. But that's something that was
sort of a, you know, a footnote to today is keep an eye on this for the
long term. The governor is clearly thinking about building a nationally
continued national profile in the Republican Party as a manager. He also
didn't rule out when I did ask him about a secretary, a cabinet post that
seems like a, you know, I wasn't sure about how he'd react to that because
he'd still be, you still have a boss being the president. But if he had a,
if he had a high profile cabinet position, that could also be a
political political steppingstone for those who think along those lines. Well,
um, uh, an amazing morning in new Hampshire politics. It's only, it's
only, it's not even one o'clock yet. So it's remarkable how much has happened
in just the last few hours, uh, here we are at the Bridges house allegedly
there's hundreds of thousands of dollars in the walls here. If you know
the history Senator Styles Bridges may or may not have been the most
upstanding citizen. Hopefully I'm not speaking ill of the dead here. But you
know the legend has it that Styles Bridges had a lot of cash on hand and
it may or may not have been stuck in the walls here. So, uh, it was never
found in the remodel. So john and I are going to go poke around and see if we
can find that For John to stay. So I'm Adam Sexton, thanks for watching news
nine plus politics.