During an interview this weekend on CNN’s State of the Union, New Hampshire GOP Governor Chris Sununu said he doesn’t believe Donald Trump will win the GOP primary for 2024 in his state.
“He could. I don’t think he will,” Sununu said when asked about Trump’s prospects. “He could. One thing — I mean obviously he started his campaign after the election in ’22. That obviously had a lot of stumbling blocks that he was trying to overcome. He comes to New Hampshire, and frankly he gives a very mundane speech. The response we’ve received is, he read his teleprompter, he stuck to the talking points, he went away. So, he’s not really bringing that fire, that energy I think that a lot of folks saw in ’16. I think in many ways it was a little disappointing to some folks. Even he acknowledged it wasn’t his best. He came to a predetermined crowd — not one of his big rallies. So I think a lot of folks understand that he’s going to be a candidate, but he’s also going to have to earn it.”
Trump recently stopped by New Hampshire for one of his first actual campaign events since confirming he would be running for president in the next election, which was obviously long expected even before he provided that confirmation. On FiveThirtyEight, where elections analysts collect polling data, the most recent survey of the primary field in New Hampshire has Trump in the lead over Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis — and the three surveys before those numbers show DeSantis leading. Those surveys showing DeSantis in the lead include numbers from the University of New Hampshire and conducted with the sponsorship of conservative organizations including a super PAC, Club for Growth Action. Polling in other states and at the national level has mirrored that trend, although DeSantis hasn’t actually announced a campaign for president.
If DeSantis did run, he might have to cut short the second term as Florida governor that he just won last year in a landslide. Elsewhere, Trump’s campaign launch isn’t unfolding as smoothly as he might have hoped. In Iowa, which he’s yet to personally visit in this latest campaign swing, GOP officials including Senator Chuck Grassley and Governor Kim Reynolds weren’t even answering Trump’s calls, per a Bloomberg report. Grassley, Reynolds, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) were also resisting providing Trump with their endorsements. Check out Sununu’s comments below:
Chris Sununu on Trump's New Hampshire appearance: "He's not really bringing that fire and that energy I think that a lot of folks saw in '16. I think in many ways it was a little disappointing to some folks." pic.twitter.com/LT0E0TdnYF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 29, 2023
