Sununu says he won’t run for president in 2024

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story had incorrect information and has been updated.

CONCORD, NH– After much speculation and a series of high-profile appearances across national media hinting that he was on the verge of a decision, Gov. Chris Sununu says he won’t be seeking the GOP nomination for president in 2024.

In an op-ed published Monday in the Washington Post, Sununu writes that while he believes he may have had a “clear path” to the nomination, he can do more to strengthen the Republican Party from his position as governor during the high-profile New Hampshire primary.

“The path to winning was clear, but I believe I can have more influence on the future of the Republican Party and the 2024 nominating process not as a candidate but as the governor of the first-in-the-nation primary state — a governor who is unafraid to speak candidly about issues, candidates and the direction of our party, untethered from the limitations of a presidential campaign and unleashed from conventional boundaries. We must not be complacent, and candidates should not get into this race to further a vanity campaign, to sell books or to audition to serve as Donald Trump’s vice president.

Sununu made the announcement via Twitter on Monday.

I will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

The stakes are too high for a crowded field to hand the nomination to a candidate who earns just 35 percent of the vote, and I will help to ensure this does not happen.

Read my full op-ed:https://t.co/biZOzhV8K6

— Chris Sununu (@ChrisSununu) June 5, 2023

The editorial begins with Sununu’s assertion that the GOP is “on a collision course toward electoral irrelevance with no corrective action.”

He goes on to say that while Trump is the current leader according to polls for the Republican nomination, he “did not deliver on his proises to drain the swamp, secure the border and instill fiscal responsibility while in office,” adding that Trump also added $8 tillion to the national debt and predicts that if Trump wins the nomination, Republicans will again lost their bid for the White House.

Our party is on a collision course toward electoral irrelevance without significant corrective action. The stakes are too high for a crowded field to hand the nomination to a candidate who earns just 35 percent of the vote, and I will help ensure this does not happen. He says his strength will be in continuing to strengthen and grow the party – especially with younger voters – and use his high-profile as New Hampshire governor to “endorse, campaign and support the candidate I believe has the best chance of winning in November 2024.”