Exclusive – NEWFIELDS, N.H. — Gov. Chris Sununu has been one of the Republican Party’s most vocal critics of former President Trump in recent years.
But New Hampshire’s popular Republican governor said the state is “a very strong option for the former president, who will officially become the Republican 2024 presidential nominee next week.”
It’s the first time a Republican has won the swing state of New Hampshire in a presidential election in nearly a quarter century — all the way back to 2000, when then-Texas Governor George W. Bush won.
But following two recent polls suggesting the race in New Hampshire is within the margin of error, and President Biden’s extremely tough debate performance two weeks ago, Republicans are growing hopeful that they can end the losing streak.
Powerful independent political handicappers will swing some states in presidential elections
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, on the eve of the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary election. (AP Photo/Matt Luke)
“It’s going to be a coin toss. At the end of the day, it’s going to be a 50-50 state,” Sununu said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital from his hometown in coastal New Hampshire.
Sununu predicted that Trump “will do very well in battleground states like New Hampshire.”
What battleground state voters are saying about Biden’s extremely tough debate performance
“There’s going to be a turnout problem on the Democratic side,” the governor argued, pointing to growing calls from Democratic lawmakers for Biden to end his reelection campaign amid deep concerns about his physical and cognitive ability to lead the country for the next four years.
He said “the pain of inflation” was working against Democrats in New Hampshire, “and it’s very real for families. They need to feel the change.”
President Biden and former President Trump will face off in a debate on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Getty Images)
Sununu isn’t the only optimistic Republican in New Hampshire.
“I do believe New Hampshire is a big issue,” Steve Stepanek, a senior adviser to Trump in New Hampshire, told Fox News a few days after the debate.
Democrats are clearly opposed.
“New Hampshire is not a Trump-friendly state,” said Cathy Sullivan, a former Democratic state party chair and former Democratic National Committee member, adding, “There’s been no change in the Biden-Trump balance in New Hampshire so far.”
Biden tells Democrats calling for him to withdraw ‘will only help Trump and hurt us’
And when it comes to ground-up efforts in New Hampshire, Democrats currently hold a huge organizational advantage over Republicans.
The Biden reelection team and the state Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign have been on the ground since January with 14 field offices across New Hampshire, while the Trump team and Republicans currently have one field office in addition to the campaign’s state headquarters.
“The New Hampshire Democratic Party will continue to leverage our strong grassroots campaign base to reach out to New Hampshire residents in every corner of our state so that we can come together to re-elect President Biden and Vice President Harris in November. This is more important than ever,” longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said in a statement.
New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu is interviewed by Fox News Digital on July 11, 2024 in Newfields, New Hampshire. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Sununu will not be traveling to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for next week’s Republican National Convention.
“I have a job to do here,” he emphasized.
But the governor, a frequent guest on national television and cable news networks in recent years, said he will be conducting “the majority of my media appearances” remotely.
The big event to be announced at the convention will likely be Trump’s nomination of his running mate.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“I don’t think it will make a huge difference in terms of whether Trump is successful in the election, but it certainly will make a difference in whether the former president is able to be productive once he returns to office,” Sununu said.
“Obviously I’m pretty biased in the direction that the president needs a CEO, a partner, a manager to help him take care of a lot of other things that he might not be able to handle in a 24/7 job,” Sununu said in an appeal to Trump to appoint a governor.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum speaks at a press conference with other Republican governors at an oil refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana, on June 3, 2024. Standing behind Governor Burgum to the right is New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
When asked about North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who is considered a finalist for the vice presidential nomination, the governor was full of praise.
“Doug Burgum is great. He’s a great friend. He’s been a great governor. He’ll be a great asset to the Trump administration,” said Sununu, who accompanied Burgum on a campaign tour of New Hampshire last year during his unsuccessful bid for the White House.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
