New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is leaving the door open to a 2024 presidential run, acknowledging that he’s having conversations about a bid for the White House.
In an interview with Fox News, Sununu, who won reelection in November, said that he’s been approached about a possible presidential campaign and is discussing the matter. But he also insisted that there’s still plenty of time to make a decision.
“It’s incredibly flattering,” Sununu said of the speculation that he could mount a presidential bid. “A lot of folks are coming to me, a lot of folks want me to run. It’s definitely conversations that we’re having, of course.”
“My first priority is New Hampshire. It really is,” he added. “But again, we’ll keep having those conversations. There’s no time table for making decisions or where it all goes.”
Sununu was reelected to a fourth term in the New Hampshire governor’s mansion last year after passing on a bid for the U.S. Senate. He’s repeatedly been mentioned as a possible candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, especially by critics of former President Donald Trump, who launched a comeback campaign in November.
But Sununu offered few clues about when he could make a final decision on a presidential campaign, noting that the New Hampshire presidential primaries are still more than a year away.
“I think people have to understand it is, what? Jan. 4 or 5, right? Of ‘23? So we still have well over a year before we even get to the first-in-the nation primary,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of time before folks even get in the race.”
While that may be true, the 2024 Republican primary has already begun to draw considerable attention. Trump is the only candidate who has launched a campaign so far, but there’s growing chatter that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may jump into the race.
There’s also a handful of Republicans who are also seen as would-be contenders, including former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Early polling suggests that Trump and DeSantis are the two frontrunners for the 2024 nomination. Nevertheless, Sununu said that there’s still time for the political landscape to change.
“Who knows what might happen between now and then?” Sununu said. “And those unknown variables could really dictate who gets in the race and how successful they can be.”