GOP Digest — September 9, 2026 | Sununu Routs Brown 70-25 for New Hampshire Senate Nod

Wednesday's Republican brief: New Hampshire hands Trump-endorsed John Sununu a 40-point landslide and a real shot at flipping Jeanne Shaheen's open Senate seat, Kelly Ayotte cruises to renomination, a self-funding first-time candidate takes the 1st District nod outright, and Democrats limp out of the night with a dynasty squeaker and a socialist protest vote.

Today's Digest

• SENATE — John Sununu routs Scott Brown for the New Hampshire Republican nomination: The former senator defeated Brown 69.7 percent to 25.2 percent, according to the Associated Press, in a primary that was projected Tuesday night not long after polls closed. Sununu now faces Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas for the seat Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is giving up after three terms — a contest leaders in both parties see as essential to deciding control of the U.S. Senate.
• ENDORSEMENTS — President Trump's February endorsement carried the night: Trump backed Sununu early, touting him as an "American First patriot," and the president's pick beat a rival who had also served as an ambassador during Trump's first term. Sununu had once been a vocal critic of the president; the endorsement erased that history with primary voters and produced a better than 40-point margin.
• GOVERNOR — Kelly Ayotte renominated at roughly 90 percent: The Republican incumbent brushed aside two lesser-known challengers as she seeks a second two-year term in a state that elects governors every two years. She now faces Democrat Cinde Warmington, who finished second in the 2024 Democratic primary and was the only gubernatorial candidate on her party's ballot Tuesday — a party that cleared the field for its 2024 runner-up against an incumbent who just consolidated hers.
• HOUSE — Anthony DiLorenzo wins the 1st District Republican primary outright: The first-time candidate took around 51 percent against 26 percent for Hollie Noveletsky and 14 percent for Brian Cole, with the Associated Press calling the race shortly after polls closed. DiLorenzo picked up Trump's endorsement early and fueled his campaign with $1.6 million of his own money, giving Republicans a self-funding nominee in an open seat Pappas is vacating after four terms.
• DEM WATCH — Stefany Shaheen survives the 1st District Democratic primary by 2 points: The AP called the race at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday with Shaheen at 37 percent to Maura Sullivan's 35 percent, with 88 percent of votes counted — a margin of roughly 1,700 votes. Shaheen is the daughter of the retiring senator; Democrats spent the summer on a family-name fight and emerge with a bruised nominee and eight weeks to the general.
• DEM WATCH — A Democratic Socialist held Pappas to roughly two-thirds: Karishma Manzur, a scientist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, took about a third of the vote against Pappas in the Senate primary without state party backing, which she said worked to thwart her bid. Democrats carry into November a Senate nominee who could not consolidate his own primary electorate.

On the Record

"American First patriot" — President Donald Trump, on John Sununu, in the February endorsement that shaped Tuesday's New Hampshire Senate primary.