Former Republican senator builds war chest for bruising New Hampshire primaries

FIRST ON FOX: Former Republican Sen. Scott Brown is building a war chest for his campaign as he prepares for a likely grueling New Hampshire Senate primary battle against former Sen. John E. Sununu, in a crucial 2026 race where the GOP aims to flip a seat long held by Democrats.

Brown, the first major Republican to enter the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, reported Tuesday that he raised more than $1.2 million in funds during his first full quarter as a candidate, according to figures first shared with Fox News Digital.

Shaheen’s vacant seat is one of the Republican Party’s top targets, as the party aims to not only defend but also expand its current 53-47 majority in the Senate.

The third quarter 2025 fundraising total from July to September includes money raised by Brown’s Senate campaign as well as a joint fundraising committee formed with his Leadership PAC, Strong Country for Today and Tomorrow.

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Former Sen. Scott Brown, candidate for the 2026 New Hampshire Republican Senate nomination, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, July 4, 2025, in Exeter, New Hampshire. (Paul Steinhauser-Fox News)

According to the figures, Brown had almost $900,000 in cash at the end of last month.

Brown, a former senator from neighboring Massachusetts and Republican candidate for New Hampshire Senate in 2014 who later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand while serving as president. that of Donald Trump first administration, called the response to the fundraising “overwhelming.”

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“With this strong performance, our campaign will have the resources it needs for the long term and allow me to campaign the only way I know how: hard work and a focus on the retail policy that Granite State voters expect.”

And pointing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is considered the clear favorite for his party’s Senate nomination, Brown emphasized, “New Hampshire always knows better than Washington, D.C., and that’s a message I intend to pursue against Congressman Pappas and anyone else who decides to enter this race.”

New Hampshire Democratic Senate candidate Chris Pappas is interviewed by Fox News Digital, July 4, 2025, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. (Paul Steinhauser-Fox News)

Brown’s comment about “anyone else” is a reference to Sununu, who is expected to launch a campaign this month, setting up a likely bruising primary battle for the GOP Senate nomination in New Hampshire.

“I’m confident that if we’re a strong team, this is a race that can be won. It’s a race that I know I can win. And more importantly, it’s a role where I know I can make a difference for New Hampshire,” Sununu said last month in an interview with Fox News Digital.

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Sununu, a former three-term congressman who won election to the Senate in 2002 before losing his re-election bid in 2008, reiterated that he would “make a decision in October” on whether to launch a Senate campaign.

“It’s a winning race for the right person who reflects our state’s values, not Washington’s,” Sununu told Fox News.

Former Republican Senator John E. Sununu of New Hampshire is interviewed by Fox News Digital September 15, 2025 in Rye, NH. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)

Sununu is a brand in New Hampshire politics. The former senator’s father, John H. Sununu, is a former governor who later served as White House chief of staff to President George HW Bush. And one of his younger brothers is former Gov. Chris Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to four two-year terms as leader of the Granite State.

Republican Sen. Dan Innis, far from a candidate for the Republican Party nomination, ended his campaign last month after Sununu publicly said he was considering a run for Senate. Innis said he would support Sununu and also urged Brown to end his campaign.

But Brown, long known as a tireless and scrappy campaigner, has made clear he has no plans to suspend his campaign.

And he has repeatedly targeted Sununu because of the former senator’s lack of past support for Trump, who holds immense influence over the Republican Party.

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Sununu, with the then governor. Chris Sununu, endorsed former ambassador and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley in New Hampshire’s 2024 Republican presidential primary, as she battled Trump for the nomination.

And on the eve of the nation’s first presidential primary, the former senator wrote an opinion piece titled “Donald Trump is a Loser,” which appeared in the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state’s largest daily newspaper.

“@JohnSununu was the first ‘Never Trumper,'” Brown accused in a social media post last month. “He’s going to have to explain that.”

In recent radio appearances, Brown also reminded listeners that Sununu “called President Trump a loser.”

And reflecting on Sununu’s last 15 years in the private sector, Brown noted that his likely main rival was “lobbying for special interests.”

Brown supported Trump before his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory, which propelled him to the GOP presidential nomination and ultimately the White House. Brown later served as the United States ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

Trump, whose support in the Republican primaries is extremely influential, has remained neutral so far.

But the president might want to ignore Sununu’s past moves.

Earlier this year, when Chris Sununu flirted with a Senate run after leaving office, Trump urged him to run.

Republican presidential candidate, former UN Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is joined by New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu as they visit a polling location at Winnacunnet High School to greet voters January 23, 2024, in Hampton, New Hampshire. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The younger Sununu, who was Haley’s main supporter and surrogate in New Hampshire, criticized Trump repeatedly during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

Trump told reporters in April that he met with the former governor in the Oval Office and would “fully support him.”

“He’s been very nice to me over the last year,” Trump added. “I hope he runs. I think he will win this seat.”

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And a national Republican familiar with the Senate race in New Hampshire told Fox News Digital last month: “President Trump appreciates winners and understands that John E. Sununu is putting this race on the Republican map.” »

Fundraising, like polling, is a key indicator of a candidate’s strength and popularity, and money raised can be used to build a campaign team and fund advertisements and grassroots outreach efforts.