With their political equivalent of a No. 1 draft pick rejecting a 2022 Senate bid, Republicans are left searching for a backup plan.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on Tuesday stunned the political world by announcing he wouldn’t seek to challenge Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan next year. That despite heavy courting from Republican Senate leaders in Washington. Sununu said he would instead seek reelection as governor, a position he first won in 2016.