Fact Check: Sununu Gave CARES Act $ to Campaign Contributors & Not Granite Staters Who Need It Most

Concord, NH - At tonight’s debate, Chris Sununu tried to distract from his record of giving campaign contributors COVID-19 relief instead of Granite Staters who need it most.  

“Sununu has called himself ‘a Trump guy through and through’ and like Trump, Sununu’s failure in this pandemic has only made things harder for working families. With hundreds dead and thousands out of work, Sununu has used COVID relief money for giveaways to friends instead of helping the people who need it,” said Jeff Taylor, New Hampshire State Director of End Citizens United. 

BACKGROUND: 

• Chris Sununu gave a no-bid contract to a longtime GOP activist and donor. According to NHPR, “recently disclosed state contracts show that Sununu has authorized several no-bid, retroactive deals worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to political benefactors, without the traditional outside approval [...] One new beneficiary of that spending is Concord developer Steve Duprey, a former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman and longtime GOP activist and donor. Sununu has authorized the state to pay the Duprey-owned Capital Hotel Company $453,599 to supply four ballrooms and four converted guest rooms for ‘a COVID-19 Operations Center.’” [NHPR, 5/18/20]

• Chris Sununu gave two no-bid contracts to a company whose founder hosted a fundraiser at the governor’s home last year. According to NHPR, “Also made public this week are two no-bid, retroactive contracts involving Portsmouth-based urgent care provider, Convenient MD. One contract, worth $450,000, pays Convenient MD to provide nurses and physicians assistants to boost the state’s contact tracing program. Another contract awards Convenient MD $1 million in exchange for ‘telemedicine services,’ backdated to March 25, and also to conduct COVID-19 testing on workers at the state’s long-term care facilities, starting on April 15 [...] Sununu’s ties to the company predate the pandemic. Convenient MD cofounder Max Puyanic hosted a political fundraiser for the governor at his Seacoast home late last year. Campaign finance records show that Puyanic, his wife Tamar Puyanic, and Convenient MD itself have contributed at least $11,500 to Sununu’s gubernatorial campaigns.” [NHPR, 5/18/20]

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