Until recently (as in, this morning) Governor Sununu has met every question about challenging Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen with the same answer. No. No interest. He likes being governor. Managing. But something changed.
On February 24th, while reporting on an Emerson Poll that showed him tied with Sen. Shaheen for the seat, were he to run, I asked,
I wonder if this Poll, in any way, changes his position on challenging Senator Shaheen for her spot in Washington?
Something has because Mr. Sununu is now keeping his options open. He isn’t ruling anything out.
“I don’t rule anything out.” …
“In all frankness, I haven’t thought about it too much,” Sununu said when asked about his timetable on deciding whether to run for re-election or for the Senate. …
“[O]ne thing that was evident of those polls is people in the state want someone other than Jeanne Shaheen. Otherwise that poll wouldn’t have had her tied with someone who’s right now not even considering running.
“I think the mandate is very clear. They want someone other than Jeanne Shaheen. Whether it’s myself or another candidate, she’s very vulnerable,” he emphasized.
A second poll, U-Amherst, that we did not report produced similar results to the Emerson Poll. This has Republicans inside the Beltway buzzing with the possibility of winning a Senate Seat in New Hampshire.
I’d like to see someone unseat Shaheen. And despite Ray Buckley’s mewlings to the Concord Monitor about fighting down in DC for funding, if Shaheen were actually working for New Hampshire, she would have fought to keep more money from leaving in the first place.
Sununu would be starting from a good place. We know he could get money. Is he the best candidate for the job or do you have someone else in mind? Someone who can beat Shaheen.
