NH-Gov 2024: If You Knew Sununu Like I Knew Sununu

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

Bob Burns (NH-02 nominee in 2022) has indicated he's gearing up for a run.

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Bob Burns (NH-01 nominee in 2022) has indicated he's gearing up for a run.

(*NH-02) but yeah, actually now looking at his Twitter feed he does seem to be hitting Sununu on just about every front and trying to position himself as more of a "populist" on economic issues, i.e. critiquing Sununu for saying he would be open to raising the retirement age (the clip was from when Sununu was still toying with the Presidential run, for reference). So honestly looks like Burns may have been even thinking of running regardless of what Sununu did.

That being said I don't think he has much of a chance; there is a reason he ran in NH-02 rather than NH-01 even though that's where he lived. Part of it was that, as a former Hillsborough country treasurer, a lot of his voters lived in NH-02, but just as big a chunk basically are in Manchester/Bedford (where he was from) in NH-01. But Burns honestly seems like a second-rate politician who could never hack it in a more competitive, high-profile GOP primary against more serious figures in a more competitive district like NH-01, so he ran in NH-02 instead. But maybe he will prove me wrong.

To be fair, Burns pretty resoundingly defeated Sununu's handpicked candidate in a congressional district that Sununu literally drew specifically for his candidate. I wouldn't say that he hasn't ran in a tough race.

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

Bob Burns (NH-01 nominee in 2022) has indicated he's gearing up for a run.

(*NH-02) but yeah, actually now looking at his Twitter feed he does seem to be hitting Sununu on just about every front and trying to position himself as more of a "populist" on economic issues, i.e. critiquing Sununu for saying he would be open to raising the retirement age (the clip was from when Sununu was still toying with the Presidential run, for reference). So honestly looks like Burns may have been even thinking of running regardless of what Sununu did.

That being said I don't think he has much of a chance; there is a reason he ran in NH-02 rather than NH-01 even though that's where he lived. Part of it was that, as a former Hillsborough country treasurer, a lot of his voters lived in NH-02, but just as big a chunk basically are in Manchester/Bedford (where he was from) in NH-01. But Burns honestly seems like a second-rate politician who could never hack it in a more competitive, high-profile GOP primary against more serious figures in a more competitive district like NH-01, so he ran in NH-02 instead. But maybe he will prove me wrong.

To be fair, Burns pretty resoundingly defeated Sununu's handpicked candidate in a congressional district that Sununu literally drew specifically for his candidate. I wouldn't say that he hasn't ran in a tough race.

Difference between a tough race and an unwinnable one. Winning as a MAGA populist in New Hampshire is very much the latter.

I was talking about the primary, not the general.