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Sununu vows to do ‘everything I can’ to narrow GOP primary field, create ‘best chance to stop Trump’

August 21, 2023 | | Print Article

The path to the next GOP presidency runs not with, but through former President Donald Trump according to one governor who vowed to “do everything” he could to help.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has hardly been silent about his opposition to the former president’s reelection bid, even after he ruled out the possibility of his own 2024 campaign. Now, days before the first primary debate, he penned an op-ed in support of an expedited winnowing of the field with a reminder that the race is still “anyone’s for the taking.”

“As governor of the first-in-the-nation primary state, I will do everything I can to help narrow the field,” he wrote for The New York Times. “I plan to endorse and campaign for the best alternative to Mr.  Trump. As of now, it’s anyone’s for the taking.”

“To win, they must break free of Mr. Trump’s drama, step out of his shadow, go on offense, attack, and present their case. Then they need to see if they can catch fire this fall — and if they can’t they need to step aside, because winnowing down the field of candidates is the single best chance to stop Mr. Trump,” argued Sununu. “Too much is at stake for us to have wishful candidacies.”

On Sunday, Trump made clear that he would not be participating in any of the debates and he used a recent poll to support his position.

“New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by ‘legendary’ numbers. TRUMP 62%, 46 Points about DeSanctimonious (who is crashing like an ailing bird!), Ramaswamy 7%, Pence 5%, Scott 3%, Haley 2%, Sloppy Chris Christie 2%, ‘Aida’ Hutchinson 1%,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more. I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” he announced.

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Throughout his campaign, the president has often turned to polls to support his status as the frontrunner. While many point to him as a surefire bet for the Republican nomination, his chances of retaking the White House are far more muddled — a point Sununu included.

“If Mr. Trump is the Republican nominee for president in 2024, Republicans will lose up and down the ballot. According to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans say they would likely not support Mr. Trump in 2024,” the governor detailed, “not even Jimmy Carter had re-election numbers that bleak.”

“Every candidate with an (R) next to their name, from school board to the statehouse, will be left to answer for the electoral albatross at the top of the ticket,” expressed Sununu of the down-ballot ripple effect that could spell the difference in staving off increasingly radical policies from the left.

Recently, the governor has matched his words with deeds as he has stood alongside a number of candidates seeking the GOP nominations including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

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Further on polling, Sununu contended that some evident woes in Iowa and New Hampshire were indicative that the president’s broad base kept him from plummeting, but the broader opposition meant there was a potentially troubling limit on how much support Trump could ultimately muster.

“In Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states that will vote in the 2024 Republican primaries, Mr. Trump is struggling. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, he is consistently polling in the low 40 percentage range,” the governor wrote. “The floor of his support may be high, but his ceiling is low.”

“This is why Mr. Trump must face a smaller field. It is only then that his path to victory shrinks. Leaders within the Republican Party — governors, senators, donors and media influencers, ” invoked Sununu, “have an obligation to help narrow the field. At a minimum, any candidate who does not make the stage for the first two debates must drop out.”

Kevin Haggerty
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