Unearthing Crisis Chris Sununu’s Legacy As He Floats a U.S. Senate Run
- Amplify NH
- Mar 12
- 6 min read
Contact: Ryan Mahoney, ryan@amplifynh.org
Unearthing Crisis Chris Sununu’s Legacy As He Floats a U.S. Senate Run
CONCORD, N.H. — In a story published yesterday evening by The Washington Times, former Governor Chris Sununu is reported to be considering a run for U.S. Senate. As Sununu weighs his options, New Hampshire deserves a refresher on the very recent Sununu legacy, forged with Republican majorities the last four years. Upon reflection, Granite Staters will find that Sununu’s legacy — reflected in the current state of the state — is a litany of unsolved crises he left in his wake. While Sununu touted the “New Hampshire Advantage,” it became far less advantageous to live in New Hampshire under his watch.
"Granite Staters are currently paying the price for the many crises created by Chris Sununu failures as governor,” said Amplify New Hampshire Executive Director Ryan Mahoney. “From skyrocketing housing and energy costs to record-high homelessness, massive tax hikes and an enormous budget shortfall, Sununu’s fingerprints are all over the challenges the state is dealing with today. Sununu’s so-called 'New Hampshire Advantage' left the state in crisis and disadvantage. As he floats a Senate run, New Hampshire voters should remember the legacy he left behind: a housing and cost of living crisis, mired in crime, corruption, and homelessness, and communities struggling under the weight of his legacy."
Crisis 1: A Cost of Living Crisis
Housing Costs: The median price of a single-family house in the state rose over 80% from 2018 to 2024, with a recent Union Leader report showing that home prices set a new record for the month of February. Sununu also oversaw an 85% spike in statewide homeless from 2016 to 2023 (1,317 to 2,441 individuals).
Energy Costs: New Hampshire families are paying 34.5% more for electricity today than when Sununu took office. The average retail price for electricity (cents/kWh) increased from 15.66 in 2016 to 21.07 in 2022, a 34.5% increase, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. After seven years of Sununu, New Hampshire has risen to being 5th most expensive state in the country for energy costs.
Business Friendliness: Sununu never delivered on his campaign promise to bring new businesses to New Hampshire. Instead, New Hampshire’s ranking as one of the best states to do business dropped 14 spots in CNBC’s list. The Granite State fell from 26th the summer before he took office to 40th in the most recent rankings. In CNBC’s analysis, from 2016 to 2023, New Hampshire fell from 26th to 34th in workforce quality, from 16th to 44th for strength of economy, from 4th to 15th for quality of life (listed as life, health & inclusion in 2023), from 29th to 35th for technology and innovation, and from 1st to 4th for business friendliness.
Family Friendliness: Long heralded as one of the best states to raise a family, New Hampshire’s national ranking fell five spots during Sununu’s time in office from 2nd best state to start a family in 2017 to the 7th best state in 2023.
Healthcare Costs & Outcomes: Total annual health insurance premium costs in NH increased from $6,637 in 2016 to $8,053 in 2022, a 21% increase, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book, children and teen deaths per 100,000 increased from 18 in 2015 to 21 in 2021. Sununu’s reauthorization of expanded Medicaid included a 90% Federal Medical Assistance Percentage trigger that made New Hampshire the only state in New England at risk of 60,000 residents losing coverage upon proposed Congressional Medicaid funding cuts.
Crisis 2: A Tax & State Budget Crisis
A Budget Shortfall: Sununu left New Hampshire with a $21 million budget shortfall, largely due to years of Republican tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and deeply entrenched fiscal mismanagement under Republican leadership while costs have been downshifted to local communities.
Massive Tax Hikes: Under Sununu, statewide property taxes increased by $100.7 million in FY2024, a 38.3% jump. Republican Mayor of Manchester, Jay Ruais, who campaigned on tax cuts, just raised property taxes by 3.82%—the city’s largest increase in over a decade, while Lebanon residents are bracing for an 11.9% municipal property tax increase, and Gorham property owners face a crushing $3.74 increase per $1,000 valuation, leaving residents furious about disappearing services and rising costs. The Republican-backed SWEPT (Statewide Education Property Tax) continues to burden local towns, with property tax hikes of 6.8% in Durham, 7.9% in Londonderry, and 8.06% in Manchester—a thinly veiled ploy to slash the state budget while forcing towns and homeowners to shoulder the costs.
A Rising Tax Burden: New Hampshire went from 44th lowest tax burden in 2016 to lowest in 47th 2023).
Crisis 3: Homelessness & Crime
A Nation-Worst Homelessness Crisis: A recent 2024 State of Homelessness in NH Annual Report released by the NH Coalition to End Homelessness shows that in 2023, homelessness surged 52%, the largest increase of any state in the country on an issue that already concerned New Hampshire residents. From 2016 to 2023, statewide homelessness skyrocketed by 85%, jumping from 1,317 individuals to 2,441. These alarming figures confirm what New Hampshire’s cities and towns have long known: Governor Sununu has failed to meet this moment with the leadership and resources it demands. Prior to Sununu’s governorship, New Hampshire was trending in the right direction. From 2014 to 2016, the state experienced an “encouraging decline” — a nearly 20% decrease in homelessness following years of strategic progress. Sununu reversed that trend, leaving communities across New Hampshire struggling under the weight of a worsening crisis.
A Bail Reform Disaster: Current Governor Kelly Ayotte has railed against Governor Sununu’s recent bail reform law, which took effect in January of 2025. Ayotte calls the law passed by Republicans and signed by Sununu a “broken,” “failed social experiment” and “a joke to criminals,” making it her first major priority to fix as governor.
An Increase In Gun Violence: The first bill Sununu signed into law loosened New Hampshire’s gun laws that are now some of the weakest in the nation and an outlier in the region, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. More than half of Granite Staters say they are more concerned about gun violence compared to a year ago and 57 expressed concern their family members could be a victim of gun violence, according to polling conducted by Breakthrough Campaigns for AmplifyNH in 2023.
Crisis 4: A Crisis of Corruption & Criminality
Corrupt Appointees: In October, Governor Sununu’s first nominee for the New Hampshire Supreme Court, Justice Anna Barbara Hantz-Marconi was tagged with two felony indictments and five misdemeanor charges for an attempt to commit improper influence and criminal solicitation of improper influence during an investigation of her husband.
COVID Power Grab: During the COVID-19 crisis, Sununu infamously circumvented the authority of the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee to make himself the sole decider in doling out $1.25 billion in federal relief, including hundreds of thousands of dollars to his own ski resort and $844,000 to Senator Sanborn who bought at least three race cars for himself and his wife. This adds to the Sununu family’s web of shady dealings with foreign governments and businesses.
A Party Rife With Criminality:
In May, Republican State Legislator Ross Berry resigned in disgrace after Republicans stripped him of his chairmanship and membership on the Election Law Committee, facing a formal complaint for arranging an elaborate and idiotic scheme to hold a surprise committee vote without telling the Democratic members of the committee.
In August, former GOP Rep. Troy Merner pleaded guilty on charges of wrongful voting and theft by deception for illegally voting in the New Hampshire House for a whole session while being ineligible to serve per the state constitution.
Two New Hampshire Republican State Representatives, Rep. Dan Hynes and Rep. Tina Harley, were exposed for casting votes in the New Hampshire House while apparently being ineligible to serve per the state constitution.
Republican Rep. Jeffrey Greeson was arrested and charged with assault for screaming and swearing at a snowplow operator who was trying to make roads safe for other drivers.
Former Republican special election candidate Elliot “Alu” Axelman, is facing four charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Republican State Rep Jess Edwards made a disgusting argument in favor of child marriage laws by describing 16-year-old girls as “ripe” and “fertile.”
The Claremont City Council removed Rep. Jonathan Stone from city boards, and the Union Leader called for removal from House Committees, after his disturbingly inappropriate and dangerous behavior was exposed.
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About Amplify New Hampshire
Amplify New Hampshire is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization founded to keep Granite Staters informed of the decisions made in local, state, and federal government that will impact their lives and empower them to enact change. For more information, visit amplifynh.org.