By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Gov. Chris Sununu said he wants people to think about supporting a Republican Administration at the White House, not just Donald Trump as the governor plans to campaign with the party’s newly minted nominee despite his support of Nikki Haley and often took jabs against the former president in the process.
Sununu has endorsed Trump. Meeting with New Hampshire reporters in his office Wednesday, Sununu was asked if he was looking forward to campaigning with Trump.
“I am going to campaign hard for the Republican ticket, for the Republican party as a whole, without a doubt especially here in New Hampshire which is where the need is the largest,” said Sununu.
Trump has lost twice in New Hampshire and Sununu said he is aware of that fact.
“I’m always concerned with Donald Trump on top of the ticket because…there is no doubt in a place like New Hampshire he can make it a lot more challenging for certain seats and certain candidates and certain districts. And you want a ticket to be uplifted by everybody. You want support by addition, not the other way. So, likely, in New Hampshire, I think voters are very smart. They look at each position independently as has been proven: 2020 was great proof of that. Trump lost here substantially, I won here…’HUGE’ I think is the word,” an adjective Trump uses to describe his own accomplishments.
Sununu said he expects there will be a big voter turnout in November. While he was unsure of who would sit it out, impact third party candidates could have and other factors, he said it all adds up to a candidate needing to work hard.
“They have got to go talk to voters, they’ve got to raise money and sell themselves on a great message and I have confidence that Republican candidates up and down the ticket here in New Hampshire will do it.”
Sununu, a Republican, is not running for re-election.
He suggested Republican candidates “be true and honest where you are…don’t answer in fear and answer with confidence about where you are and where you stand.”
Sununu said he often reminds folks, “It’s not just about supporting Trump. It’s supporting a Republican Administration. That is what you get. And that is what a lot of folks are really supporting.”
He said he thinks a Republican administration, led by Trump, could provide a lot of relief bureaucratically, financially and that Republicans believe in states’ rights.
He said it is better than a Democratic administration in the White House.
“This is about a Republican Administration. A conservative administration. An administration that believes in individuals and states to dictate their own path,” he said.
Sununu said he does not agree with every Trump policy and most of Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden’s policies.
He said many people don’t know who is running the show in the Biden Administration.
He said he expects Republicans to do well in New Hampshire this year, and said he plans to endorse a candidate to replace him as governor but he did not say who or when.
CLASS A FELONS SHOULD BE AT TRIAL
Sununu said he agrees with some legislators that defendants like Adam Montgomery should be required to sit through their own trials. Adam Montgomery, who was incarcerated, chose not to attend his trial.
Montgomery was convicted of killing his five-year-old daughter Harmony Montgomery in Manchester but has not been sentenced. That is planned for May.
Sununu said it is appropriate to require Class A Felony defendants to attend their trial and sentencing and said he welcomed legislation in that regard.
State Rep. Steve Shurtleff, D-Concord, introduced a bill that would require such attendance and Sununu said he “one hundred percent” agreed with Shurtleff. He praised Shurtleff’s statement on the House floor defending his bill.
“A lot of us were surprised you didn’t have to, (appear) I think. I didn’t know until that happened, that individuals could skip that process,” Sununu said.
FIREFIGHTER CANCER SAFETY
The governor said while it may cost a lot, he supports more scrutiny and preventative care for firefighters who are exposed to chemicals that could cause cancer.
“There is a decent cost to this but a very big need, without a doubt,” he said noting in 2018 the state passed the “presumption bill” to look at firefighter exposure to toxins.