New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, lambasted GOP gubernatorial candidates across the country running on a platform of objecting to the 2020 presidential election results on Sunday.
Sununu made the comments while appearing on CNN’s State of the Union after anchor Jake Tapper asked if he thought it was “disqualifying” for Republican gubernatorial hopefuls to campaign on former President Donald Trump’s discredited claims that the 2020 election was stolen through widespread fraud. Tapper made reference to Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, Kari Lake in Arizona, and Darren Bailey in Illinois, three Trump loyalists who have campaigned heavily on the message that President Joe Biden’s election victory was illegitimate.
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“Well, if I were — if they were on the ballot in my state, I would disqualify them,” Sununu said. “You just picked three pretty interesting individuals. They all do happen to be running for governor. We will see where those races end up.”
He argued that while such candidates could hurt their own electoral chances by pushing such radical claims, the 2020 election will not be a top concern for most voters in November.
“Look, as a voter, I think voters look at what’s happening at their kitchen table every day when you’re talking about whether something’s a disqualifying issue,” he said. “And that’s going to be gas prices. It’s going to be inflation. It’s going to be housing prices and the lack of housing and all of this sort of thing. Those are the things that are really going to be driving folks to the polls.
“So I don’t know if there’s ever one single disqualifying issue,” Sununu continued. “But my sense is, if they’re kind of pushing that line, there’s other issues and other platform policies that folks might have questions with. But that’s something every voter just has to kind of decide for themselves — look at the whole platform, look at what’s important in their state and what’s important for their family.”
The Electoral College went 306-232 for Biden, but Trump has spent the nearly two years since his loss alleging that widespread fraud had tipped the results in swing states. Courts across the country rejected those claims, and Trump refused to concede, though in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot he pledged a “peaceful transition of power.” He has spent his time since leaving office maintaining his allegations and campaigning against Republicans who broke with him on his election loss.
Sununu has emerged as somewhat of a Trump critic in recent months, calling the former president “f***ing crazy” in a monologue at an elite event in Washington, D.C., for journalists in April. Speaking at the annual Gridiron Club dinner, the governor initially pretended to praise the 45th president’s “experience,” “passion,” “sense of integrity,” and the “rationale” he brought to his tweets.
“Nah,” continued Sununu, who is considered a 2024 contender. “I’m just kidding. He’s f***ing crazy,” causing the Renaissance Washington hotel ballroom to erupt in laughter.
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“Are you kidding? Come on,” he said, jokingly asking the crowd if it thought he was seriously praising the former president’s tweets. “You guys are buying that? I love it.”
He then revealed that Trump “just stresses me out so much,” before pledging that he was “going to deny” he ever said what he had.
