Chris Sununu

Chris Sununu

Republican Party

Prior offices

New Hampshire Executive Council District 3

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Governor of New Hampshire

Successor: Kelly Ayotte

Predecessor: Maggie Hassan

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Education

High school

Thomas Jefferson High School, 1993

Bachelor's

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998

Personal

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Profession

Engineer/businessman

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

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Chris Sununu (Republican Party) was the Governor of New Hampshire. He assumed office on January 4, 2017. He left office on January 2, 2025.

Sununu (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Governor of New Hampshire. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Sununu's 2022 re-election made him the second New Hampshire governor since 1900 elected to four consecutive two-year terms.

Biography

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.

Sununu grew up in Salem, New Hampshire, and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Chris Sununu was first elected to the New Hampshire Executive Council in 2010, and he served three terms. Sununu worked for 10 years as an environmental engineer and was also the CEO of the Waterville Valley Ski Resort.

Sununu is the son of former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu and brother of former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu.

Political career

Governor of New Hampshire (2017-2025)

Sununu was elected governor of New Hampshire on November 8, 2016. He held office from January 5, 2017, to January 8, 2025.

New Hampshire Executive Council (2011-2017)

Sununu was first elected to the New Hampshire Executive Council in 2010. He was re-elected in 2012 and 2014. Sununu did not seek re-election in 2016.

Elections

2024

In July 2023, Sununu announced that he would not seek re-election as Governor of New Hampshire.

2022

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of New Hampshire

Incumbent Chris Sununu defeated Tom Sherman, Kelly Halldorson, and Karlyn Borysenko in the general election for Governor of New Hampshire on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Sununu (R)	57.0	352,813
		Tom Sherman (D)	41.5	256,766
		Kelly Halldorson (L)	0.8	5,071
		Karlyn Borysenko (L)	0.4	2,772
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,713

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 619,135
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Tom Sherman advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Sherman	97.1	83,205
		Other/Write-in votes	2.9	2,503

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 85,708
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Sununu	78.5	113,443
		Karen Testerman	10.0	14,473
		Thaddeus Riley	7.7	11,107
		Julian Acciard	2.0	2,906
	Submit photo	Jay Lewis	0.9	1,318
	Submit photo	Richard McMenamon II	0.6	817
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	374

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 144,438
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2020

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2020

New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2020 (September 8 Republican primary)

New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2020 (September 8 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Governor of New Hampshire

Incumbent Chris Sununu defeated Dan Feltes and Darryl Perry in the general election for Governor of New Hampshire on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Sununu (R)	65.1	516,609
		Dan Feltes (D)	33.4	264,639
		Darryl Perry (L)	1.4	11,329
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	683

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 793,260
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Dan Feltes defeated Andru Volinsky in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dan Feltes	52.3	72,318
		Andru Volinsky	47.4	65,455
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	446

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 138,219
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Incumbent Chris Sununu defeated Karen Testerman and Nobody in the Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Sununu	89.8	130,703
		Karen Testerman	9.3	13,589
		Nobody	0.9	1,239
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	95

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 145,626
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2018

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2018 (September 11 Republican primary)

General election

General election for Governor of New Hampshire

Incumbent Chris Sununu defeated Molly Kelly and Jilletta Jarvis in the general election for Governor of New Hampshire on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Sununu (R)	52.8	302,764
		Molly Kelly (D)	45.8	262,359
		Jilletta Jarvis (L)	1.4	8,197

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 573,320
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Molly Kelly defeated Steve Marchand in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Molly Kelly	66.0	80,599
		Steve Marchand	34.0	41,612

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 122,211
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Incumbent Chris Sununu advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Sununu	100.0	91,025

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 91,025
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of New Hampshire

Jilletta Jarvis defeated Aaron Day in the Libertarian primary for Governor of New Hampshire on September 11, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jilletta Jarvis	54.2	576
		Aaron Day	45.8	487

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,063
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2016

Click [show] to read a summary of the results

Sununu filed to run as a Republican candidate for governor of New Hampshire in 2016. He competed with state Rep. Frank Edelblut, state Sen. Jeanie Forrester, mayor of Manchester Ted Gatsas, and marketing manager Jon Lavoie in the September 13 Republican primary election.He won the Republican nomination over Edelblut by about 1,000 votes—a margin of less than 1 percent. He competed with Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern, who won the Democratic nomination, Libertarian Max Abramson, and independents Bill Fortune and Jilletta Jarvis in the November 8 general election.

Chris Sununu defeated Colin Van Ostern and Max Abramson in the New Hampshire governor election.

New Hampshire Governor, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Sununu	49%	354,040
	Democratic	Colin Van Ostern	46.7%	337,589
	Libertarian	Max Abramson	4.3%	31,243
Total Votes				722,872
Source: The New York Times

Chris Sununu defeated Frank Edelblut, Ted Gatsas, Jeanie Forrester and Jon Lavoie in the New Hampshire Republican primary for governor.

New Hampshire Republican primary for governor, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Chris Sununu	30.68%	34,137
Frank Edelblut	29.79%	33,149
Ted Gatsas	20.53%	22,840
Jeanie Forrester	17.72%	19,716
Jon Lavoie	1.28%	1,429
Total Votes (300 of 300 precincts reporting)		111,271
Source: AP

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Chris Sununu did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Chris Sununu did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Campaign website

The following were found on Sununu's campaign website.

“	Chris' Record ✔ A balanced state budget with no new taxes or fees ✔ Property tax relief by returning $65 million to cities and towns for roads, bridges, and safer schools ✔ Greater health care choices for veterans ✔ Job creating business tax cuts ✔ Stopped toll increases ✔ Increased funding to provide better care for seniors ✔ Established full day kindergarten ✔ Fully funded the Alcohol Fund to fight substance use disorder, created the only youth drug treatment center in NH, and kick-started recovery friendly workplaces ✔ $275 million invested in clean water projects ✔ $5 million in higher education scholarships ✔ Eliminated over 1600 burdensome government regulations Economy ✔ Fastest growing economy in New England ✔ Networked hundreds of out-of-state businesses to relocate to New Hampshire ✔ Eliminated over 1,600 burdensome government regulations ✔ Lowered the Business Profits and Enterprise taxes ✔ Created the Department of Business and Economic Affairs ✔ One of the lowest unemployment rates in the country Education ✔ Established full-day kindergarten ✔ $5 million in higher education scholarships ✔ Greater school choice for New Hampshire families ✔ Established the New Hampshire Robotics Education Fund to prepare students for work in the 21st century Infrustructure ✔ Returned $40 million to cities and towns for roads and bridges ✔ Returned $30 million for school infrastructure and security upgrades ✔ Dedicated $35 million to reduce water contamination Safety ✔ Created the only youth drug treatment center in New Hampshire ✔ Increased funding for treatment and recovery services by $7 million ✔ Added 60 new beds for community mental health treatment options ✔ Established a $4.5 million drug interdiction program to disrupt supply chains ✔ Added 20 new DCYF case workers across the state	”
—Chris Sununu's 2018 campaign website

2016

Campaign website

Sununu included the following positions on his campaign website:

“	PROMOTE PRO-GROWTH BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Chris Sununu believes a strong New Hampshire economy is built on a pro-growth business environment, free of repressive regulations and onerous taxes. High business taxes, increasing healthcare costs and record-high energy costs are crippling our economic growth and limiting job creation in New Hampshire. As governor, Chris Sununu will reverse nearly twenty years of harmful policy that has eroded our competitiveness and halted job creation. Creating a Business-Friendly Climate: Once dynamic in its ability to attract skilled and high-paying jobs from across the region, New Hampshire’s economy has stagnated over the past decade. With an absence of leadership in the Governor’s Office, too many barriers to new business exist to put the state back on a sustainable growth path. As governor, Chris Sununu will work to reduce the burden of some of the highest corporate taxes in the nation, simplify complicated regulation and end costly government mandates. Only then will New Hampshire reinvigorate its business climate and restore the state’s economic prominence across the Northeast. Reorganize Office of NH Economic Development: As part of a comprehensive overhaul to how state government approaches business, growth and opportunity, a Governor Sununu will reorganize the NH Economic Development office to report directly to the Governor and Executive Council. Reduce & Simplify Business Taxes: Climbing business taxes under Democratic leadership are eroding New Hampshire’s competitive economic advantage in the region. The recent reductions in the Business Enterprise Tax (BET) and Business Profits Tax (BPT) are providing business owners more flexibility to grow and hire. Chris Sununu will work to continue the gradual decrease of the BET and BPT. No New Rules & Regulations: After taking office, Chris Sununu will implement a 90-day moratorium on any new rules and regulations. All proposed rules and regulations following the conclusion of the moratorium will be held against a rigorous economic impact analysis conducted by business leaders in New Hampshire. Attract New Business: Fostering a friendly economic climate will attract new business into the state and encourage the growth of existing business, allowing New Hampshire to remain competitive in the region and across the country. 100 Businesses in 100 Days: In the first 100 days of his administration, Chris Sununu will meet with 100 companies throughout the region and invite them to do business in New Hampshire. Chris Sununu’s hands-on experience as CEO of Waterville Valley has given him insight and the ability to develop personal relationships with companies across the country and trade partners abroad. Restoring Customer Service for NH Businesses: State government’s first priority should be working with businesses to enhance their growth potential, not act as a barrier and hindrance to success. A Governor Sununu will ensure that departments serve as a resource to local business, simplifying relationships with state government. As CEO of Waterville Valley, Chris Sununu has seen first-hand the regulatory burdens departments can place upon local businesses. Reduce Healthcare Costs: Healthcare costs in New Hampshire are among the highest in the nation and are a deterrent to hiring and business growth. As governor, Chris Sununu will support the repeal and replacement of Obamacare and push for alternatives such as allowing insurers to sell policies across state lines, reducing unnecessary mandates that drive up costs, and providing price transparency that allows consumers to make cost-effective decisions when choosing their providers. To drive down costs, we must increase competition in New Hampshire’s healthcare market and encourage convenient independent providers to grow. Right to Work: Businesses across the country are moving to Right to Work states, which provides critical flexibility for employers and allows employees to privately make the best choices for themselves. As governor, Chris Sununu will advocate for right-to-work legislation that will help attract new companies to New Hampshire. INVEST IN WORKFORCE READINESS A thriving economy is contingent upon a strong workforce. Poor leadership in the Governor’s Office has done little to implement effective, forward-thinking strategies to both grow and improve New Hampshire’s workforce. With creative incentive programs and new partnerships with stakeholders, investment in workforce readiness will serve as a key piece to a broad-based approach to economic growth in a Sununu administration. Keep NH Graduates In NH: New Hampshire’s college students are graduating with unprecedented debt and in need of high paying jobs. Chris Sununu’s plan will incentivize students to stay in New Hampshire and grow our economy from the inside out. Student Loan Assistance Program: Students who graduate from New Hampshire colleges and enter the New Hampshire workforce in high-demand jobs such as nurses, recovery clinicians or teachers will be eligible for student debt reduction through newly prioritized higher education funds. Promotion and Growth of Community Colleges: Community colleges are the bedrock of new-age higher education. Across the nation, community colleges are providing students an affordable alternative to four-year institutions, readily providing graduates with the skills needed to be successful in a competitive economy. Keep Community Colleges Competitive: As governor, Chris Sununu will foster partnerships between community colleges and New Hampshire businesses to help develop a curriculum that meets the needs of today’s employers, create work-study programs that provide students with valuable experience, and give employers direct access to the workers of tomorrow. Incentivize Technical Schools: For years, career and technical institutions in New Hampshire have provided high schools students with advanced vocational skills they can apply to jobs as soon as they graduate. Access to these schools, though, remain limited for students in smaller school districts across the state. We must ensure that students graduating from our high schools have workforce ready skills on day one. Invest in Growth of Career Technical Schools: Working with the Department of Education, as well as private stakeholders, A Sununu administration will invest in the growth of technical schools offered throughout the state and the expansion of programs each school offers. Career Training in Substance Abuse Recovery Programs: Addressing the ongoing drug crisis in New Hampshire requires a holistic approach to recovery. Men and women seeking treatment for substance abuse too often struggle to reintegrate into the workforce. Grants for Recovery Center Job Training: As governor, Chris Sununu will work to provide state grants for New Hampshire recovery centers that offer career training and workforce readiness programs. Business Tax Credits for Job Training Investment: Businesses that invest in job training programs at recovery centers will be eligible for newly available tax credits. Workplace Prevention Programs: Businesses must be given the tools and training to understand what resources are available to their employees when faced with substance abuse challenges. By giving employers proper training tools we can enhance the support system for individuals and begin to address this crisis in a more comprehensive approach. A Governor Sununu will dedicate available funds to implementing educational programs for business managers. At Waterville Valley, Chris Sununu has worked with his team to create resources for employees who are facing substance abuse issues, implementing an open-door policy with supervisors and promoting peer-to-peer recovery support systems. DEVELOP LONG-TERM ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS Chris Sununu is an environmental engineer. And as CEO of Waterville Valley, he understands the need for long-term solutions to New Hampshire’s most-threatening energy problems. With limited options for baseload supply and overreaching environmental regulations, New Hampshire can no longer afford to continue catering to the special interests with short-sighted and politically-driven energy policy. A Sununu administration will develop relationships with the necessary stakeholders to bring to the state forward-thinking solutions to an unstable energy market to help reduce rates for our citizens. Create Partnerships Between Local Communities and Energy Program Developers: New Hampshire needs a governor who understands the New England energy market. What’s more, New Hampshire needs a governor who understands the sensitivity of implementing energy programs in local communities. Chris Sununu understands exactly that and, as governor, will work closely with local communities to ensure that projects are being done the New Hampshire way - with care, transparency and in a clean manner. Reductions in Energy Rates: The best way to reduce our energy rates is by increasing the availability of baseload power throughout New England. Our limited power supply into the grid is not sustainable and keeps rates too high for manufacturing companies to succeed. All options for increasing power supply must be brought to the table but implemented with New Hampshire’s best interests. PRIORITIZE INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS Fix Red-Listed Roads & Bridges Now: New Hampshire has over 2,000 miles of roads and 150 red listed bridges in need of repair. Leadership is about priorities and New Hampshire must be led by a governor who understands where our most critical needs are. Unfortunately, Democratic governors over the past decade have stalled on these important infrastructure needs and instead focused on more politically expedient projects. A Sununu administration will take action immediately to address long-overdue projects. Fiber Connectivity: As governor, Chris Sununu will expand fiber connectivity across the state through support for public-private partnerships, ensuring that New Hampshire does not fall behind competitors in the region and across the country in technological advancements. New business must be assured complete connectivity when competing in a global market.	”
—Chris Sununu's 2016 campaign website

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Chris Sununu campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	Governor of New Hampshire	Won general	$1,741,860	$0
Grand total			$1,741,860	$0
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Chris Sununu

Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Kelly Ayotte  source  (R)	Governor of New Hampshire (2024)	General	Won General
Kelly Ayotte  source  (R)	Governor of New Hampshire (2024)	Primary	Won General
Donald Trump  source  (Conservative Party, R)	President of the United States (2024)	Primary	Won General
Nikki Haley  source	President of the United States (2024)	Primary	Withdrew in Convention

Ballot measure activity

Ballotpedia is not aware of any personal political advocacy by this officeholder related to ballot measures we track. If you are aware of any, please email us.

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Maggie Hassan (D)	Governor of New Hampshire 2017-2025	Succeeded by Kelly Ayotte (R)
Preceded by -	New Hampshire Executive Council District 3 2011-2017	Succeeded by -