Scoop: Thune to headline fundraiser for New Hampshire's Sununu

Hans Nichols

r John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, center, and Senator John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, during a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. — Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Majority Whip John Barrasso during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 4. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is scheduled to headline a fundraiser for former Sen. John E. Sununu outside of D.C. on Thursday, according to people familiar with the plans.

Why it matters: The GOP high command sees New Hampshire as one of its top pickup opportunities this cycle.

Even if the Senate schedule prevents Thune from attending in person, the fundraiser is intended to send a clear signal to donors that they should take New Hampshire seriously.
First, though, Sununu must defeat former Sen. Scott Brown, who represented neighboring Massachusetts from 2010 to 2013, in the Sept. 8 GOP primary.
The winner will face Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).

The other side: Pappas has been warning that the race is closer than many national Democrats assume.

"Don't take New Hampshire for granted," he told Punchbowl last month.
Senate Majority PAC, the super PAC aligned with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), has already reserved more than $10 million in New Hampshire for the cycle.

Zoom out: Republicans are looking to expand the Senate map in a midterm where they're largely playing defense.

New Hampshire, which Trump lost by 2.8 percentage points in 2024, and Michigan, which he won by 1.4 points, have emerged as Republicans' top targets.
In Michigan, the Senate Leadership Fund is already targeting Abdul el-Sayed with a new negative ad, calling him "dangerous."

Zoom in: Sununu already has the backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the NRSC is running coordinated campaigns on his behalf.

Sununu served in the Senate from 2003 to 2009, losing to Shaheen in the Obama '08 wave.
His brother, Chris, was a popular governor for eight years, winning his last reelection in 2022 by 15.5 percentage points.

An internal NRSC survey released in early July had the race in a statistical dead heat, with Pappas over Sununu 43%-42%.

The latest public polling, from Saint Anselm College in late June, had Pappas leading Sununu 47%-41%.

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Scoop: Thune to headline fundraiser for New Hampshire's Sununu

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