Sununu’s “Kiss of Death” Sets Off Another Round of GOP Infighting

Sununu’s “Kiss of Death” Sets Off Another Round of GOP Infighting

With Gov. Chris Sununu’s endorsement of Republican candidate for governor Kelly Ayotte last week, the messy Republican primary is only getting messier and more extreme.

Following the announcement, Ayotte’s opponent, Chuck Morse, unleashed an attack on both Sununu and Ayotte via social media, calling the endorsement “comical,” and claiming that Kelly Ayotte has been “in the boardroom working for herself,” referencing the former Senator’s role on several boards for big corporations where she has “netted millions.”

Other Republicans were quick to note Sununu’s losing endorsement record, including his endorsements of Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, and even Chuck Morse himself, who went on to lose in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate in 2022. During the Republican primary, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called Sununu’s endorsement the “kiss of death.”

Morse went further, slamming both of them for their insufficient support for Donald Trump. Ayotte’s Trump troubles are nothing new: after she infamously rescinded her endorsement of Trump in 2016, claiming he was “talking about assault” and that she “cannot vote for Donald Trump,” – which many say costher reelection – she once again endorsed his campaign in 2024, but spent months dodging questions on who she voted for in the state’s first-in-the-nation primary, angering the MAGA base who sees through her craven political about-face.

This comes after Morse launched a series of attacks against Ayotte in recent weeks, slamming her for her immigration record in a new ad and for her ”liberal” record in the U.S. Senate.

“Kelly Ayotte tying herself to Gov. Sununu’s failed agenda – including an ongoing housing crisis, attacks on public schools, and threats to reproductive freedom – alongside her election-year embrace of Donald Trump’s extremism – is the latest reminder that Granite Staters cannot afford her in the corner office,”said DGA States Press Secretary Emma O’Brien. “While this GOP grudge match gets messier by the week, Kelly Ayotte continues to prove to Granite Staters she’s just another craven, self-interested politician who they cannot trust to put them first.”

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