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New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley today released the following statement responding to reports that Chris Sununu is running for re-election:
“Looks like Chris Sununu realized what I’ve always known: Maggie Hassan has a record of delivering for New Hampshire — and beating Republicans year after year.
“Let’s be clear about why he didn’t run: his approval ratings are in free fall after signing an abortion ban and completely mismanaging our state’s handling of the pandemic. He has never been so unpopular and so vulnerable, and he is in trouble. Granite Staters are sick and tired of Chris Sununu’s record of failure as Governor and I look forward to electing a Democratic Governor in 2022 who will do what Sununu has failed to do in five years: fight for Granite Staters.”
BACKGROUND:
In June, Chris Sununu became the first governor in modern New Hampshire history to sign into law an abortion ban that requires mandatory ultrasounds and imposes felony penalties for doctors who treat their patients. The unpopular abortion ban has drawn a sharp backlash from medical professionals and contributed in part to a significant drop in the Governor’s approval ratings. Sununu’s record of defunding Planned Parenthood — in 2015 he bragged about being the deciding vote to defund Planned Parenthood — has received fresh scrutiny and criticism after his Executive Council voted to defund the organization in September. Sununu was infamously caught laughing during the vote.
The Governor has abdicated any leadership role in the pandemic. Under his watch, New Hampshire is the last state in New England for vaccinations, hospitalizations and cases are surging, and New Hampshire is the only state in the union to reject federal vaccination funding.
Even as his approval drops with Independents and Democrats, the Governor is facing a massive rebellion from his own party, with Republicans holding multiple anti-Sununu protests since September and Donald Trump flirting with endorsing Sununu’s primary opponent.