I will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
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.
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.
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Since 2017, the national Republican Party has lost up and down the ballot, in red states and in blue states, and in elections spanning the House, Senate and presidency. That will happen again unless we Republicans undergo a course correction.
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Current polls indicate Trump is the leading Republican candidate in 2024. He did not deliver on his promises to drain the swamp, secure the border and instill fiscal responsibility while in office — and added $8 trillion to our national debt — yet now he wants four more years. He is facing numerous investigations and continues to peddle the conspiracy theory that he won the 2020 election, repelling independents.
If he is the nominee, Republicans will lose again. Just as we did in 2018, 2020 and 2022. This is indisputable, and I am not willing to let it happen without a fight.
By choosing not to seek the nomination, I can be more effective for the Republican Party in ways few other leaders can. The microphone afforded to the governor of New Hampshire plays a critical role in an early nominating state. I plan to endorse, campaign and support the candidate I believe has the best chance of winning in November 2024.
To win, Republicans need our message to appeal to new voters, and we can do this without sacrificing classic conservative principles of individual liberty, low taxes and local control. But we must abandon the issues that are solely made for social media headlines, such as banning books or issuing curriculum fiats to local school districts hundreds of miles away from state capitals. Republicans should re-embrace local control and let parents within their own communities decide what’s right.
Chris Sununu: Some of my GOP colleagues have lost their moral compass on Ukraine
In 2024, millennials and Gen Zers will be a significant voting bloc. Republicans must not cede this ground. Too often, we have terrible messengers who are focused on the wrong issues. Instead of pushing deeply unpopular and restrictive nationwide abortion bans, Republicans should recognize that every time they open their mouths to talk about banning abortion, an independent voter joins the Democrats.
We need to expand beyond the culture wars that alienate independents, young voters and suburban moms. Republicans must offer an optimistic blueprint to prioritize issues that connect with these voters — addressing the homelessness crisis, imposing fiscal responsibility, reducing inflation, securing our borders, becoming energy independent — all while championing their personal freedoms, before they permanently move away from the Republican Party.
No one can stop candidates from entering this race, but candidates with no path to victory must have the discipline to get out. Anyone polling in the low single digits by this winter needs to have the courage to hang it up and head home.
Too many other candidates who have entered this race are simply running to be Trump’s vice president. That’s not leadership; that’s weakness. Too many candidates are afraid to confront Trump, surrendering to his attacks. I will have more credibility speaking out against Trump as a non-candidate to help move the conversation toward the future I believe the Republican Party should embrace.
The best path for the party’s prosperity is when we embrace limited government, individual responsibility and personal freedoms. Over the next few months, I will travel the country to support the party, bring on new voters, inspire the next generation and help grow our party. The stakes are too high for any of us to sit on the sidelines.
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.
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.
ADVERTISING
Since 2017, the national Republican Party has lost up and down the ballot, in red states and in blue states, and in elections spanning the House, Senate and presidency. That will happen again unless we Republicans undergo a course correction.
Press Enter to skip to end of carousel
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Current polls indicate Trump is the leading Republican candidate in 2024. He did not deliver on his promises to drain the swamp, secure the border and instill fiscal responsibility while in office — and added $8 trillion to our national debt — yet now he wants four more years. He is facing numerous investigations and continues to peddle the conspiracy theory that he won the 2020 election, repelling independents.
If he is the nominee, Republicans will lose again. Just as we did in 2018, 2020 and 2022. This is indisputable, and I am not willing to let it happen without a fight.
By choosing not to seek the nomination, I can be more effective for the Republican Party in ways few other leaders can. The microphone afforded to the governor of New Hampshire plays a critical role in an early nominating state. I plan to endorse, campaign and support the candidate I believe has the best chance of winning in November 2024.
To win, Republicans need our message to appeal to new voters, and we can do this without sacrificing classic conservative principles of individual liberty, low taxes and local control. But we must abandon the issues that are solely made for social media headlines, such as banning books or issuing curriculum fiats to local school districts hundreds of miles away from state capitals. Republicans should re-embrace local control and let parents within their own communities decide what’s right.
Chris Sununu: Some of my GOP colleagues have lost their moral compass on Ukraine
In 2024, millennials and Gen Zers will be a significant voting bloc. Republicans must not cede this ground. Too often, we have terrible messengers who are focused on the wrong issues. Instead of pushing deeply unpopular and restrictive nationwide abortion bans, Republicans should recognize that every time they open their mouths to talk about banning abortion, an independent voter joins the Democrats.
We need to expand beyond the culture wars that alienate independents, young voters and suburban moms. Republicans must offer an optimistic blueprint to prioritize issues that connect with these voters — addressing the homelessness crisis, imposing fiscal responsibility, reducing inflation, securing our borders, becoming energy independent — all while championing their personal freedoms, before they permanently move away from the Republican Party.
No one can stop candidates from entering this race, but candidates with no path to victory must have the discipline to get out. Anyone polling in the low single digits by this winter needs to have the courage to hang it up and head home.
Too many other candidates who have entered this race are simply running to be Trump’s vice president. That’s not leadership; that’s weakness. Too many candidates are afraid to confront Trump, surrendering to his attacks. I will have more credibility speaking out against Trump as a non-candidate to help move the conversation toward the future I believe the Republican Party should embrace.
The best path for the party’s prosperity is when we embrace limited government, individual responsibility and personal freedoms. Over the next few months, I will travel the country to support the party, bring on new voters, inspire the next generation and help grow our party. The stakes are too high for any of us to sit on the sidelines.
