LONDONDERRY – Former Vice President Mike Pence may have saved his most important stop for last during his busy one-day trip to New Hampshire on Friday.
Pence was making his first appearance in the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar since declaring his candidacy at an event in Iowa on Wednesday.
After a roundtable discussion with the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women, a campaign rally, and a meet and greet with customers at Mary Ann’s Diner in downtown Derry – a must-stop for White House hopefuls – Pence huddled with Gov. Chris Sununu at Poor Boys Diner in Londonderry.
Pence, who was Indiana’s governor when former President Donald Trump chose him as his running mate in the 2016 presidential election, forged a strong working relationship with Sununu during his four years as vice president in the Trump administration.
Now, Pence is among 10 Republicans challenging Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, who would love to land Sununu’s endorsement in New Hampshire. Sununu, who had seriously mulled a White House run of his own, announced on Monday that he wouldn’t launch a campaign for president.
Since then, many of the GOP 2024 contenders – six of them are current or former Republican governors – have been reaching out to Sununu, with Pence the first to team up in person.
Asked if he was the man in demand on the Republican presidential campaign trail now that he’s not running, Sununu told this reporter, “I try to be open and helpful to everybody. So, I don’t think I’m the man in demand. I think everyone knows that I’m willing to help and give good advice and guidance in terms of what they’re doing, next steps, who to meet, where to go, how to approach the state.”
Sununu, who’s in his fourth two-year term steering New Hampshire, said, “I do know how to win the state and be successful here and I’m happy to share any advice I can with all the different candidates.”
The governor noted that “I’m going to see a couple more [GOP presidential candidates] this weekend….I’m going to help everybody.”
Sununu said he may make an endorsement in the Republican presidential nomination race ahead of next year’s New Hampshire primary. “I imagine so,” he reiterated.
But he added that, “I’m not asking anything of them other than to be the best candidates they can be. When all the Republican candidates are doing well in New Hampshire, that’s good for the state. And that’s my direct interest in this. I’m just making sure they’re as good as they can be in terms of candidates because it brings New Hampshire to a more prominent position.”
Sununu told this reporter after his meeting with Pence didn’t ask for his endorsement. He emphasized that “the vice president is a great friend and we had a great conversation. He seems to have hit the ground running and he knows exactly how to campaign in New Hampshire.”
Looking ahead to next year’s elections, Sununu has yet to announce whether he’ll seek an unprecedented fifth term as governor.
Asked about his timetable, the governor said, “This summer. Maybe after the fourth or something.”
Pointing to his wife, Valerie, and three children, Sununu added, “I’ve got to talk to Val and the kids. I’ll figure it out. I really don’t know.”
But referring to the state’s biennium budget, which passed both chambers of the legislature, he said, “I did get the budget yesterday, which was really awesome. That helps things, to be sure.”
Three well-known Republicans who are seriously mulling gubernatorial runs all say they’ll support Sununu if he decides to seek another term in the corner office.
Those three Republicans are former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who previously served as state attorney general, former state Senate President Chuck Morse, and Sununu’s longtime education commissioner, Frank Edelblut.
But behind the scenes, all three continue to prepare for potential campaigns in case the governor ultimately decided against running for re-election.
“We’re ready to go. We made that pretty clear,” Morse told the Monitor.
“I think I’ve been on the road as much anyone, talking to people,” Morse added as he pointed to his efforts to line up the support of voters and donors. “I think my past performance as Senate president shows that I can do the job.”
Morse, who came in second last September in the race for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination, shared that “I purposely met with Commissioner Edelblut and Sen. Ayotte in the winter, told them what I intended to do and they told me where they were in the decision-making process. I think I’ve been pretty open about it.”
Meanwhile, Ayotte’s political allies are showcasing the former senator’s fundraising prowess.
Ayotte’s Kelly PAC on Wednesday filed its financial disclosure report, which showed it had $414,000 cash on hand, with the vast majority of the funds raised during the most recent filing period. And nearly all of the contributions came from Granite State donors.
A couple of Republican political insiders described the haul as impressive.
Some of the top GOP donors in New Hampshire, who have contributed to Morse in the past, were listed as donating to the Kelly PAC.
As for Edelblut, who has the ability to self-fund any gubernatorial campaign if needed, sources in his political orbit told the Monitor that he’s making the moves that would put him in a position to launch a campaign if Sununu ultimately decides against running in 2024.