New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Sunday that former President Donald Trump would lose to President Biden in a potential election rematch.
‘No,’ he said when asked on ABC’s ‘This Week’ if Trump could win in 2024. ‘Unfortunately, at the end of the day November of ’22 showed us that. Trump is going to be seen as a very extreme candidate. The country is going to push back against that.’
Trump is the only Republican so far who has declared he will run for president in 2024, but several others are rumored to be announcing a candidacy in the coming months. Sununu is among those rumored, which he addressed in the Sunday interview.
‘I’m definitely thinking about it and having those conversations,’ he said. ‘At the end of the day, you’re going to have a lot of Republicans that get into that race. They’re all really good people, they’re really good candidates.’
Sununu won by more than 15% in his reelection bid in November, according to Fox News election data. He remains popular in his largely independent state and touted his actions to maximize individual liberties.
‘I’m kind of that ‘live free or die,’ individual liberty; I believe government has to get out of your way,’ he said. ‘And we’ve done it really, really well here in New Hampshire. We’re sharing that model across the country. No sales tax. No income tax. The most efficient government in the country. Number one in individual liberties.’
Sununu clashed with Biden in recent months as the president pushed the Democratic National Convention to bump New Hampshire down the order of primary elections and elevate South Carolina to the first primary. The governor vowed to keep the New Hampshire primary first despite pushes from Democrats to make a change.
The governor said the midterm elections are proof Republican voters rejected Trump and extreme candidates. The 2024 elections, he said, are likely to show the same result if his party continues in the same direction.
‘Just look at the results of three months ago,’ Sununu said. ‘That shows you where extreme candidates are going to end up falling. It can’t get done. He could get the nomination, but he can’t get it done.’
Sununu said he will continue to talk with prominent Republicans about what the best move for him is ahead of the next election cycle. He named several potential 2024 candidates as strong, capable leaders, which included former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
‘What I’ve tried to espouse to Republicans is that look, we want to vote for the most conservative candidate that can win in November and get stuff done in 2025,’ he said. ‘You got to have that discussion about where we’re going to go both as a party and making sure we’re going there as a country.’
