Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) said he would do "everything" he can to "help narrow" the Republican presidential primary field to avoid having former President Donald Trump jeopardize GOP electoral chances in the 2024 election.
The New Hampshire governor wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times that he would "endorse and campaign" for whom the most viable alternative to the former president is in the GOP field and that his endorsement is available to any of the other Republican candidates.
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"As governor of the first-in-the-nation primary state, I will do everything I can to help narrow the field. I plan to endorse and campaign for the best alternative to Mr. Trump. As of now, it's anyone's for the taking," Sununu wrote.
Sununu urged Republican candidates to go after Trump more and go on the offense, but he said that if candidates are unable to "catch fire," they should step aside to make room for a more viable alternative to Trump.
"To win, they must break free of Mr. Trump's drama, step out of his shadow, go on offense, attack, and present their case. Then they need to see if they can catch fire this fall — and if they can't, they need to step aside, because winnowing down the field of candidates is the single best chance to stop Mr. Trump. Too much is at stake for us to have wishful candidacies," Sununu said.
The New Hampshire Republican warned that if the GOP nominates Trump for president for a third consecutive time, it will be a bruising general election. He cited an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll that shows 63% of adults would probably or definitely not support Trump in 2024.
"Every candidate with an (R) next to their name, from school board to the statehouse, will be left to answer for the electoral albatross at the top of the ticket," Sununu wrote.
Sununu also said candidates must engage with voters in the Granite State "face to face" to earn their vote and noted that Trump's weaker poll performance in early primary states, such as Iowa and New Hampshire, could be an opening for an alternative candidate.
"In Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states that will vote in the 2024 Republican primaries, Mr. Trump is struggling. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, he is consistently polling in the low 40 percent range. The floor of his support may be high, but his ceiling is low," he wrote.
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The New Hampshire governor, who has been critical of Trump for months, said he does not believe the former president will be the 2024 Republican nominee but recently vowed to support him if he does secure the nomination. Sununu was at a campaign event for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) over the weekend, one of several GOP candidates he has appeared alongside as they campaign in the Granite State.
Sununu, a four-term governor in New Hampshire, announced earlier this summer he would not be seeking a fifth term after winning reelection in 2022 in a landslide victory.