New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu (R.), an expected 2024 GOP presidential contender who has not yet declared his bid, said Sunday that Governor Ron DeSantis would win his home state if the presidential election were held today.
The popularity of the Florida governor is well established and growing, Sununu said on NBC’s Meet the Press. Sununu said DeSantis is the effective, electorally competitive “alternative” to former president Trump that the GOP has been seeking to lead the party.
“The vast majority of the party [is] looking for an alternative” to Trump, he said. “Right now if the election were today, Ron DeSantis would win in New Hampshire. There’s no doubt about that in mind.”
DeSantis would also likely capture the crucial state of Florida in the race, Sununu said.
In recent media appearances, Sununu has flirted with a 2024 presidential run, telling CBS News’ Face the Nation earlier this month that it would be a great “opportunity to change things.”
While DeSantis has promoted the Florida “blueprint” for America, which includes a combination of economic freedom and a crackdown on wokeness in public and private institutions, Sununu said New Hampshire’s style of governance is valuable too.
“I think New Hampshire has this awesome model of ‘Live Free or Die.’ Limited government, local control, individual responsibility, really putting the voters first,” he told CBS. “Send them some money, which is nice, but send them the regulatory authority, too. So, a little decentralizing out of Washington, and maybe a little better attitude would be a good thing for America.”
Sununu has not announced his candidacy yet. On Sunday, former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan removed himself from the potential 2024 lineup, framing his choice as as a self-sacrificial strategy to prevent Trump from securing the nomination.
Urging the party to break-up with MAGA, Hogan said he was removing himself from the potential competition so as to avoid vote splitting among various GOP rivals and handing Trump the plurality.
Sununu echoed the anti-Trump sentiment Sunday, saying the country would like to move on from him, although he is a “known commodity” with his “own lane.”
“I just don’t believe that the Republican Party is going to say that the best leadership for America tomorrow is yesterday’s leadership. That doesn’t make any sense. That’s not in our DNA as America,” Sununu said. It’s kind of the antithesis of the American spirit to settle for yesterday’s news. We want the next generation. The next big idea. And that’s what we’re going to deliver.”