In response to Chris Sununu today announcing his intention to run for reelection, American Bridge 21st Century Spokesperson Julie McClain Downey issued the following statement:
“After months of flirting with ditching New Hampshire to move to Washington, Chris Sununu begins his reelection campaign battered and weighed down by serious baggage that isn’t going away. In the months ahead, Sununu will have to answer for his anti-abortion record, his COVID management failures, and for his persistent opposition to congressional legislation to lift up Granite State families and communities.”
Sununu’s run will inevitably be weighed down by political baggage—including the controversy that he’s accumulated over the past year:
- Championing a hardline abortion ban—with no exceptions for rape or incest—that requires mandatory ultrasounds and jailtime for doctors. In the run up to his reelection campaign, Sununu recklessly signed into law the first modern abortion ban in New Hampshire state history — pushing through a budget with hardline anti-choice provisions that make no exception for rape or incest, require mandatory ultrasounds, and even mandate jailtime for doctors. Despite serious concerns from New Hampshire medical providers, Sununu praised that budget as “rock solid” and “phenomenal.”
- Boston Globe: N.H.’s Sununu, the GOP’s top Senate recruit for 2022, may have just created a big political problem over abortion
- Letting Executive Council members he backed defund Planned Parenthood. In September, Executive Council members that Sununu campaigned for voted to block funding for reproductive health care clinics on the grounds that some of the clinics provide abortion services. While Sununu personally campaigned for the Executive Council members responsible, he claimed he had no final say in influencing their decision — then dismissed Planned Parenthood advocates protesting the funding cuts as creating “a lot of drama.” Defunding those Planned Parenthood clinics is ultimately expected to result in service cuts and increased wait times for Granite Staters.
- NHPR: Republican-Controlled Executive Council Rejects Awarding Contracts To Reproductive Health Clinics
- Associated Press: Family planning clinics say loss of funds mean service cuts
- Opposing critical COVID relief—then trying to take credit for the benefits for New Hampshire. Sununu said that he would have voted against COVID relief passed earlier this year by Democrats in Congress — without a single Republican vote of support. Among other things, the law included the expansion of the child tax credit, new stimulus checks, money for schools and small businesses, and critical funding for state and local governments. Even though Sununu would have voted “no” on that bill, he’s nevertheless tried to take credit for the ways it’s benefited Granite Staters — including by providing critical relief for New Hampshire towns. In this campaign, Sununu will have to answer for his opposition to the expanded child tax credit and other COVID relief provisions passed in this bill.
- Failing to address the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Despite having the worst vaccination rate in all of New England, Executive Council members Sununu campaigned for rejected $27 million in federal funding for immunizations, over Sununu’s objections — another instance of Sununu failing to step up and lead for Granite Staters. On top of that, Sununu has opposed efforts to increase vaccinations and faced intense criticism after multiple reports of his administration failing to keep accurate data on COVID-19.
Sununu’s decision to pass on a U.S. Senate run won’t shield him from accountability on any of these issues. If anything, it only draws closer scrutiny of his record as governor. We’ll continue our work to ensure that Granite Staters have the truth about Sununu’s record, and that they vote him out of office next November.
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Published: Nov 9, 2021