John Sununu says brother ‘totally wrong’ about election hypothetical

John E. Sununu pushed back this week against his brother’s recent suggestion that the New Hampshire Senate nominee would be “up by 30 points” if voters believed it was him on the ballot.

Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu made the comment in an interview with CNN after the Democratic nominee in the race, Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), suggested his opponent was purposefully omitting his first name from campaign materials to confuse voters into thinking his brother was running for Senate.

“I love my brother, but he’s totally wrong,” John Sununu said when asked by Fox News’s Paul Steinhauser about the comment Tuesday.

“This is a race that no one thought would be in play a year ago, and it’s a toss-up race right now,” he continued. “And that’s just a testament of our campaign going town to town, person to person, focusing on the right issues: bring down the cost of living, affordability, job creation.”

The former New Hampshire lawmaker is locked in a competitive Senate race against Pappas. The Cook Political Report shifted its rating in this race from a “toss-up” to favoring Democrats earlier this month after Pappas pulled ahead in the polls.

A Saint Anselm College poll released last week found the Democratic nominee pulling ahead by 7 points, while a recent GOP-sponsored National Public Affairs survey displayed a 5-point advantage for Pappas.

The GOP Senate nominee is part of the Sununu family dynasty that has long dominated politics in the Granite State.

Chris Sununu, who now serves as the president and CEO of Airlines for America, told CNN earlier this week that he was “not involved at all” in his older brother’s campaign but expressed his support for John Sununu’s Senate bid.

“We all believe in service, but you got to do it on your own,” Chris Sununu told CNN. “You got to stand on your own two feet. And I’m incredibly supportive, I’d do anything he asked me to, but he knows and I know that you’ve got to run your own race.”