John E. Sununu

Sununu’s father, John H. Sununu, was governor of New Hampshire and later White House chief of staff under President George H. W. Bush; his younger brother, Chris Sununu, also served as governor of New Hampshire.⁠[1][2]

Sununu earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Before entering Congress he was chief financial officer of Teletrol Systems, a maker of building control systems.⁠[3][4]

From 1997 to 2003 Sununu served three terms in the U.S. House representing New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District; he was vice chairman of the House Budget Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee.⁠[4][5]

In 2002 Sununu defeated then-Governor Jeanne Shaheen in the U.S. Senate election and served one term as a senator from 2003 to 2009.⁠[2][4]

In the Senate he served on the Banking, Commerce, Finance and Foreign Relations committees and was appointed congressional representative to the United Nations General Assembly.⁠[4][3]

In the Senate he focused on entitlement reform, sponsored several bills to create private Social Security accounts, and supported broadband deregulation. He lost a 2008 rematch to Shaheen.⁠[2]

After leaving the Senate, Sununu became a director of the medical device maker Boston Scientific in April 2009, where he chairs the Nominations and Governance Committee and sits on the Audit Committee; from 2009 to 2016 he was a non-executive director of Time Warner Cable.⁠[3][5]

On February 6, 2019, he was appointed a member of the Council of Lloyd’s and an independent non-executive director, serving on its Remuneration and Audit committees; he is also a director of BlueRiver Acquisition Corp.⁠[5][3]

With Shaheen retiring, Sununu launched a U.S. Senate campaign in a video on October 22, 2025, setting up a Republican primary with former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. In the video he said, “Somebody has to step up and lower the temperature. Somebody has to get things done.”⁠[2][1]

In the launch video he also said he “never voted to cut Medicare benefits and never will.”⁠[2]

On February 1, 2026, President Donald Trump endorsed Sununu on Truth Social, writing, “John E. Sununu has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”⁠[1]

On September 8, 2026, Sununu defeated Scott Brown to win the Republican nomination; with 16% of the vote tallied, preliminary results showed him with 70% to BrownBrown UniversityBrown University is a private nonprofit research university in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League. Chartered by Rhode Island's colonial legislature in 1764, it is known for its undergraduate Open Curriculum, which has no common required core. Christina H. Paxson, president since July 2012, announced on August 3, 2026, that the 2026–27 academic year would be her last in office. As of October 1, 2026, the search for Brown's 20th president remained underway.Open the full entry’s 25%.⁠[6]

On November 3, 2026, the Associated Press called New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race for Democrat Chris Pappas, who defeated Sununu.⁠[7]

Sununu helped draft and pass the Internet Tax Freedom Act, the Survivors Benefit Act and the New England Wilderness Act.⁠[4][3]

Boston Scientific: Official website: https://www.bostonscientific.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]

Lloyd’s: Official website: https://www.lloyds.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[5]