The president has issued a full-throated endorsement for Attorney General Jason Miyares’ re-election bid but has stopped short of doing so for Earle-Sears or lieutenant governor nominee John Reid.

He has notably endorsed New Jersey Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli as a “winner” with a “complete and total endorsement” – and that “after getting to know and understand MAGA, [Ciattarelli] has gone all-in.”

At a White House event in which he hosted outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Trump wished him “good luck with the upcoming election” and said the fellow former business executive has been “working very hard” for the candidates.

JAY JONES INVOKES TRUMP NEARLY 50 TIMES DURING VIRGINIA AG DEBATE, TIES MIYARES TO ‘MAGA’

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, left; President Trump, right. (Al Drago/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“He wants to see that young woman win,” Trump said of Youngkin, appearing to refer to Earle-Sears.

“And the attorney general who I endorsed.”

After the Jay Jones murder-texts scandal broke, Trump called on the Norfolk Democrat to drop out “immediately” and said Virginia must “continue to have a GREAT (sic) attorney general in Jason Miyares who by the way has my complete and total endorsement.”

SPANBERGER USES SPONGEBOB TO MOCK SEARS-TRUMP RELATIONSHIP, AS PRESIDENT PRAISES GOP NOM

“Jason will never let you down,” Trump said.

When asked in June about appealing to moderate voters while running in Trump’s party, Reid told the Hampton Roads’ ABC affiliate that he is running his own race.

“Donald Trump’s in D.C. John Reid’s in Richmond, and I’m looking to help Virginia, and so, if you love Donald Trump, awesome. If you hate Donald Trump, I really don’t intend to argue with you. I want to save Virginia and that’s why I’m running,” Reid said.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT, BUT PRESIDENT FRONT AND CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

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This week, Trump again obliquely complimented Earle-Sears while speaking to reporters on Air Force One – but declined again to issue a Miyares-type “total endorsement.”

TRUMP VOICES SUPPORT FOR GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, ADMITS SHE HAS ‘TOUGH RACE’

“I haven’t been too much involved in Virginia — I love the state; I did very well in the state … I think the Republican candidate is very good, and she should win because the Democrat candidate is a disaster,” he said.

He warned that both Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J. – the Democratic nominee in the Garden State – will preeminently be bad for the current U.S. energy dominance agenda.

“Both the Democrats are going to drive the energy prices through the roof,” he said.

Trump also faulted Spanberger for refusing to directly call for Jones’ ouster.

THE ONLY GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES RUNNING IN 2025 ELECTIONS LEAN INTO TRUMP’S MAGA CAMPAIGN TACTICS

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for clarity on whether Trump’s comments thus far have equated to an endorsement or whether he plans to offer one in the closing days, but did not receive a response.

When reached as well, the Republican National Committee indicated they were not at liberty to discuss the presidential prerogative in endorsements.

Earle-Sears, however, said she looks forward to working with Trump as governor to continue Republican policies focused on public safety, energy costs to Virginians and conservative values – and that Trump has indeed been supportive of her bid.

“I am deeply grateful for President Trump’s support and his direct encouragement to voters in Virginia to vote Republican,” she said.

“We must ensure Virginia is the best place to live, work and raise a family and, with President Trump, I’ll fight to keep energy costs low, keep our families safe and defend our commonsense values.”

Sources have pointed to Youngkin’s own success brought on by keeping Trump at arm’s length during his own hard-fought campaign against Terry McAuliffe in a closely-divided state.

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Youngkin’s messaging in predominantly Democratic northern Virginia and the I-95 corridor focused on issues like biological males in girls sports and parents’ rights that could and did draw crossover votes from Virginia voters not inclined to support someone associated with Trump.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the state, Youngkin campaigned on broader conservative or Trumpian tenets and successfully ran up the score in friendlier southside and southwest Virginia, where turnout in those less-populated counties was elevated.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

The post Trump yet to endorse in VA governor's race – but also kept Youngkin at arm's length appeared first on My Blog.

Four corporations — Tyson, JBS, Cargill and National Beef — anchor the U.S. beef supply chain, with pricing power that reaches from pasture to plate. As a result, the gap between what producers are paid for cattle and what consumers spend on beef has remained wide, a reflection, economists say, of how market power is distributed along the supply chain.

Fox News Digital reached out to all four companies for comment but did not receive a response as of publication.

TRUMP ADMIN EYES ARGENTINE BEEF IMPORTS AS DOMESTIC PRICES SOAR TO RECORD HIGHS

Some critics argue the real problem isn’t about supply, it’s the corporate giants controlling America’s meat industry. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

The frustration extends beyond farm country – Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., says the dominance of multinational meatpackers is hurting both producers and consumers.

“Four corporations control 85% of the meat sold in the United States. One of these corporations is Chinese-owned and one is Brazilian-owned. American farmers are being squeezed and American consumers are being gouged,” Massie told Fox News Digital.

Massie, who raises cattle on his Kentucky ranch, warned that expanding beef imports from Argentina would only worsen those structural problems.

“Flooding the market with Argentinian beef is not the answer to these problems. An America First solution to rising beef prices is to pass my PRIME Act, which would empower American farmers to sell directly to consumers without interference from global corporate middlemen,” Massie said.

Under current federal law, beef processed at small, state-inspected facilities can’t be sold across state lines, even if it meets the same health standards as federally inspected meat. Massie’s PRIME Act would remove that barrier, a change supporters say would let local ranchers reach more consumers and compete with the big packers.

GOP LAWMAKERS WARN TRUMP’S ARGENTINA BEEF PROPOSAL COULD RATTLE US RANCHERS

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently unveiled a plan aimed at strengthening the U.S. cattle industry. (Ty Wright/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Economists agree the beef market is highly consolidated, but say the forces shaping prices go well beyond any one trade deal.

Glynn Tonsor, a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, told Fox News Digital that strong consumer demand continues to drive beef prices higher, regardless of supply fluctuations.

“There’s nothing that forces me or you or anybody else when we go into the grocery store to pay more for beef. People are choosing to,” he said. “The consumer desire for beef is strong and, regardless of the supply-side situation, that has the effect of pulling prices up.”

He also noted that the large-scale structure of the U.S. meatpacking industry, often criticized by ranchers and lawmakers, has economic benefits for consumers.

“I would argue that those economies of scale benefit consumers,” Tonsor said. “The ability to operate at a cheaper cost per head and, ultimately, per pound produced gives us the ability to offer beef and every other item we’re talking about at a cheaper price. Anything we do that loses those economies of scale actually hurts consumers in the form of higher prices.”

FROM CATTLE TO CRUDE: HOW TRUMP’S TARIFFS ARE RATTLING THE LONE STAR STATE

The White House has previously said that importing beef will help address the rising food costs in the U.S. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Derrell Peel, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University, said that even if U.S. imports from Argentina increase, the impact on overall prices would be negligible.

“Most of what we import is lean, processed beef trimmings used for ground beef,” said Peel, who specializes in livestock marketing. “We’re not talking about the kind of beef that affects steak prices. Even if we doubled imports, it would be such a small share of the total supply that we wouldn’t detect any real impact.”

Peel added that there’s no quick way to ease pressure on cattle prices, since it takes roughly two years to bring animals to market and several years to rebuild herds.

“The fact of the matter is there’s really nothing anybody can do to change this very quickly,” he said. “We’re in a tight supply situation that took several years to develop, and it’ll take several years to get out of it.”

BEEF PRICES HIT RECORD HIGHS AS NATIONWIDE CATTLE INVENTORY DROPS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN 70 YEARS

Economists say there’s no quick way to ease pressure on cattle prices or beef. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

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Meanwhile, the White House defended the plan, saying it’s aimed at balancing relief for consumers with long-term support for U.S. cattle producers.

“The president loves our ranchers, and he also loves American consumers, and he wants to do right by both,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

Leavitt said Trump’s immediate goal is to lower beef prices by increasing supply through additional imports, while a separate, long-term plan will focus on strengthening the domestic cattle industry.

She pointed to a three-part plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, which includes expanding grazing access, easing regulations for new ranchers, cutting inspection costs and improving “Product of USA” labeling to ensure consumers know when they’re buying American-made beef.

Amanda covers the intersection of business and geopolitics for Fox News Digital.

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Reid, the Republican nominee from Richmond, challenged Hashmi, a state senator from Chesterfield, to a series of regional debates around Virginia. Reid noted Hashmi is the only candidate of the six running for statewide office to decline a debate.

A representative for Reid ensured that the AI only envisaged Hashmi’s likeness and voice — and that of the moderator – and the responses given by the representation of Hashmi were based on her prior quotes or publicized policy positions.

Hashmi’s campaign called the video a “deepfake” and told The Washington Post it was a “desperate move straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook.”

YOUNGKIN UNLEASHES CUTTING-EDGE AI TECHNOLOGY IN EFFORT TO SLASH VIRGINIA’S GOVERNMENT RED TAPE

Virginia lieutenant governor candidates John Reid and Ghazala Hashmi  (Lyra Bordelon/USA Today Network via Imagn Images; Bill O’Leary/Getty Images)

“While we appreciate that ‘AI Ghazala’ did share her vision, like her commitment to public education and reproductive rights, it’s pretty clear Reid only cares about shoddy gimmicks and not governing,” the campaign added.

The AI debate differed from other recent artificially created videos, where the words and representations of lawmakers were made to be cartoonish in some cases.

President Donald Trump shared a viral AI video earlier this month showing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wearing a sombrero as “La Cucaracha” played in the background and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., referred to his party as “woke pieces of s—.”

Schumer never said that in real life.

GOOGLE CEO, MAJOR TECH LEADERS JOIN FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP AT WHITE HOUSE AI MEETING

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For her opening statement in the debate, the “AI Hashmi” said she is running because Virginians need “someone who has the experience, knowledge and ability to fight for Virginians.”

“I have a track record with regard to the issues Virginians care about — education, health care, housing and opportunity. I am ready to make policy that will make Virginia an example for other states.”

In response, Reid — in real life — noted that Hashmi would not appear for a real debate.

HOLLYWOOD TURNS TO AI TOOLS TO REWIRE MOVIE MAGIC

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“If she’s not willing to engage in her own campaign for lieutenant governor, I don’t know why anybody thinks she would be able to fight for anything,” he said.

Reid said Hashmi supported keeping Virginia schools closed an extra year after the coronavirus pandemic and has “push[ed] for boys in girl sports… higher taxes [and] releasing criminals early.”

“Everything that we would ID as a problem in the state of Virginia, Ghazala Hashmi has pushed,” he said.

In this regard, Reid said his work in communications in Congress, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and radio help him understand what businesses need from state government if they choose to operate in Virginia.

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The lieutenant governorship is “not just gaveling in the Senate,” Reid said. “[It is] working for the state of Virginia.”

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

The post Virginia Lt. Gov. candidate enlists AI to represent Dem opponent after she rejected debate offers appeared first on My Blog.

Military families are struggling with the uncertainty that this shutdown has brought and hoping that relief comes soon. Many services are temporarily closed on military bases, with the shutdown affecting families that had been in the process of moving across the country and the globe in the service of their country.

Republicans have repeatedly offered and voted in favor of a clean continuing resolution to fund the government with no partisan policy riders. But their opponents won’t budge.

SOCIAL SECURITY, AIRPORTS, FOOD STAMPS: HOW ARE YOU AFFECTED DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?

The government shutdown began Oct. 1, with U.S. troops among the most affected. Approximately 1.3 million active-duty troops, including active-duty National Guard and reserve personnel, began the shutdown continuing to work with no pay, but President Donald Trump’s order “to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15” ended this concern, at least, with many troops receiving their paychecks with repurposed research money.

Paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division load an Airforce C-17 Globemaster aircraft to conduct Operation Panther Storm in March at Fort Bragg. (U.S. Army/Sgt. Taylor Hoganson)

Despite troops receiving these emergency repurposed paychecks on Oct. 15, the general anxiety among service members during the shutdown is reflected by a 30% increase in demand this month throughout the country at the Armed Services YMCA, which runs nearly two dozen food banks near military installations across the United States. At some food banks, demand is so high that they must close early because they run out of food. At others, lines have begun forming more than six hours before the food banks open for the day.

Additionally, despite Trump’s order that ensures troops are paid in the meantime, the U.S. military is still under heavy stress, especially at military bases abroad, where service members and their families depend far more on-base services than military families stationed in the United States do. Many of these military facilities abroad have had to temporarily close services because of Schumer’s shutdown.

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Ramstein Air Base in Germany, for example, has temporarily closed its library, aquatics center, UNITE program for morale and recreation, Military and Family Readiness Center Spouse Hub, and civilian personnel office. Other U.S. military bases abroad with some services temporarily closed include RAF Lakenheath, U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden and Naval Air Station Sigonella.

MORNING GLORY: SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER MUST END HIS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Anyone familiar with the military lifestyle knows that frequent moves between bases located all over the globe are a recurring fact of life. Many troops and their families are currently struggling with Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders, as a U.S. Air Force official revealed that airmen who received PCS orders before Oct. 1 are allowed to continue relocating, but those who received orders after the shutdown started are on hold to move.

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The Army is facing a similar issue. Even in-progress PCS moves have been halted despite some orders arriving before Oct. 1. This is exceptionally concerning because the shutdown began just after the majority of PCS orders were sent out, meaning many families are waiting to move into their new homes across the country and the world, staying at on-base hotels and spending weeks or even months without the comforts of home.

Those required to make PCS moves during the shutdown are facing financial hardships because of the uncertain environment. One organization estimates that on average, military families spend $8,000 outside of what the government covers in moving expenses — a very large financial burden for families unsure when they will receive their paychecks. Moving expenses are an especially large concern for younger military families who often have very little in savings.

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While military families and personnel are urged to spend less money, they are left to wonder when their next paycheck will come, and how best to prepare their families for continuing negative news.

Among all the negative consequences of the Schumer shutdown, some of the worst are those affecting military personnel and installations. Our service members and their families deserve better than this.

Wilson Beaver is a senior policy advisor for defense budgeting at The Heritage Foundation. 

The post Schumer's shutdown is leaving our troops and their families high and dry appeared first on My Blog.

“It’s appalling to see the number two House Democrat openly admit that the left is weaponizing hardworking Americans as ‘leverage’ for political gain, even acknowledging families will suffer in the process,” Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

“This isn’t governance — it’s calculated hostage-taking, with struggling families caught in the balance as Democrats attempt to force through their radical agenda. Families are seen only as leverage by Democrats. We always knew it, now they’re saying it out loud. Absolutely shameful.”

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., sat down for an interview with Fox News’ Chad Pergram last week. At one point, Clark was asked about who Americans would find responsible for the ongoing shutdown.

BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN

Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger criticizes House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s comments on the government shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I mean,shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have,” Clark responded.

“It is an inflection point in this budget process where we have tried to get the Republicans to meet with us and prioritize the American people, and it’s been an absolute refusal, and they were willing to let government shut down when they control the House, the Senate and the White House rather than come and talk about an issue as important to the American people is if they can afford healthcare.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Clark’s office for a response to Pfluger’s comments.

The government is shut down after Congress failed to reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)

The government shutdown is now in its 23rd day after Senate Democrats rejected the GOP’s federal funding bill for a 12th time on Wednesday evening.

Republicans proposed a measure that would keep federal funding roughly flat until Nov. 21, a spending patch called a continuing resolution (CR), so that negotiators would have more time to strike a longer-term deal on fiscal year (FY) 2026.

The bill passed the House largely along partisan lines on Sept. 19.

But Democrats have been pushing for any funding deal to include an extension of Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhancements are set to expire at the end of 2025.

Republican leaders have signaled a willingness to negotiate on those subsidies, but have ruled out doing so in the current package.

SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on the 10th day of the federal government shutdown in Washington, Oct. 10, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)

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“Mike Johnson said, we have an eternity to talk about this, an eternity. This impact of the ACA is in the next few weeks,” Clark said. “Yes, there are repercussions to a shutdown that are terrible for people.”

She continued, “I feel for military families that even if they get paid, you know, there are lots of spouses that also work that are feeling these cuts because we’ve encouraged military spouses to become federal workers to accommodate all the travel and moving that military families so frequently experience. And now we’re saying to them, ‘You’re not going to be paid for your work.’ I mean, let’s get it together here. The Republicans need to come to town. They need to sit down with us.”

Republicans have seized on Clark’s comments in recent days, however.

House GOP Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., said in a statement on Wednesday, “Democrats are holding American families hostage to advance their political agenda, and they’re admitting it.”

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

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The Rapid Response 47 account on X wrote Friday, “The White House has learned there will likely NOT be an inflation release next month for the first time in history.”

“Due to the Democrat Shutdown, surveyors cannot deploy to the field — depriving us of critical data. The economic consequences could be devastating,” the post said.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, celebrated a strong stock market performance, as newly released Labor Department figures showed that inflation for the month came in at a better than expected 3%.

The U.S. Capitol is seen during the 23rd day of the federal government shutdown and a driver pumping gas in Miami amid rising fuel prices contributing to inflation. (Celal Güneş/Anadolu via Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WHAT FED MUST DO NOW AFTER JEROME POWELL’S JACKSON HOLE EPIPHANY

That’s the highest since January and up from 2.9% in August. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also rose 3%, down from 3.1% in the previous month. Cooler inflation data for September sent Wall Street surging Friday.

“THE STOCK MARKET IS STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE BECAUSE OF TARIFFS!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

It comes as investors bet on another Federal Reserve rate cut following the new inflation figures.

Core inflation, excluding food and energy, also eased to 0.2% monthly and 3.0% annually, showing modest cooling, while gasoline prices — the biggest driver of inflation — surged 4.1% following several months of declines.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed the figures in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Inflation came in below market expectations in September thanks to President Trump’s economic agenda,” Leavitt said.

President Donald Trump hailed news that the stock market was surging Friday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“This is good news for American families, and it’s a shame the Democrats are using them as leverage to fund health care for illegal aliens. Democrats choosing to keep the government closed will likely result in no October inflation report, which will leave businesses, markets, families, and the Federal Reserve in disarray,” Leavitt said.

“Because surveyors cannot deploy to the field, the White House has learned there will likely NOT be an inflation release next month for the first time in history,” the administration added in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

Republicans have blamed the shutdown on Democrats, arguing that they refused to fund the budget in an attempt to reinstate taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants through Democrat lawmakers’ continuing resolution, which would include extending the expiring Obamacare tax credits.

Democratic leadership has disputed the claims, saying that Trump and Republican lawmakers are really behind the shutdown.

The report comes as the broader economy shows steady growth but slower hiring, creating a mixed picture for consumers and markets.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Oct. 9, 2025. Stocks rallied to record highs Friday after new inflation data came in cooler than expected, fueling bets on another Federal Reserve rate cut. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Rents rose just 0.2%, the smallest yearly gain in nearly four years, while consumer prices increased 3% in September from a year earlier, the highest since January, and up from 2.9% in August.

The figures show that inflation continues to rise more slowly than many economists expected when Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in April. Economists estimate that the tariffs are adding roughly 0.4 percentage points to annual inflation.

Some of those duties were later reduced as part of trade deals, while many companies have only passed on part of the tariff cost to consumers out of concern that doing so would reduce sales. Businesses may shift more costs to consumers in the coming months if the duties appear permanent.

TRUMP BLASTS ‘TOO LATE’ POWELL AGAIN, THREATENS LAWSUIT OVER FED’S $3B HQ RENOVATIONS

The smaller increase will come as a relief to the Federal Reserve, which has signaled it will cut interest rates again next week — the second time this year — even as inflation remains above its 2% target.

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, echoed Leavitt’s optimism, saying the latest numbers show inflation continuing to move in the right direction despite the shutdown pause in reporting.

“This is actually a really great report,” Hassett told Fox News. “The market is responding appropriately to good news, because 48 Bloomberg economists said this number was going to go way up. If you look at core CPI — the measure economists rely on most — it was down from August, below expectations and headed in the right direction.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to cut interest rates again next week. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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“The top-line number was slightly higher only because of a refinery shutdown in September that temporarily drove up gas prices, but those have already come down,” he said. “The next time we get a CPI release, once the government reopens, we’ll see even further reductions in inflation.”

Hassett added that the brief rise in gas prices doesn’t change the overall outlook, pointing to steady progress in cooling inflation.

“The bottom line is the markets are responding not because they think inflation is going up, but because they believe, as we know is true, that inflation is headed in the right trajectory,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

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But former Sen. John E. Sununu is confident he can break his party’s losing streak.

“This is a race I know I can win,” Sununu told Fox News Digital last month.

Sununu launched his 2026 GOP Senate campaign earlier this week, and on Friday explained why he’s the right person to flip the seat currently held by longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who’s retiring after next year.

FIRST ON FOX: FORMER GOP SENATOR EMERGES FROM PRIVATE SECTOR WITH NEW MISSION -‘SOMEBODY HAS TO STEP UP’

Former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire, who is running in 2026 to return to the Senate, is interviewed by Fox News Digital in Rye, N.H., on Oct. 24, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“It’s the right message, the right set of issues, and also the right person,” Sununu told Fox News Digital, in his first national interview after declaring his candidacy.

Sununu is a former three-term representative who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire’s 2002 Senate election. But the senator lost to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch.

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Shaheen announced earlier this year that she wouldn’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms and Republicans are working to flip the seat as they aim to not only defend but expand their 53-47 Senate majority.

Now, after nearly two decades in the private sector, Sununu is returning to the campaign trail in New England’s only swing state.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., seen speaking at a policy event in Concord, New Hampshire on Oct. 22, 2024, is not seeking re-election next year.  (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Sununu, in his launch video, said that nowadays “Congress just seems loud, dysfunctional, even angry,” and that he wants to “return to the Senate to help calm the waters.”

Asked if that’s the kind of message that the Republican base wants to hear, the former senator said: “They want to win. I think they want to have someone who advocates for New Hampshire and gets things done. Someone like me, who can walk into the Oval Office and work to keep taxes low for New Hampshire, work with the administration, work with President Trump.”

FORMER REPUBLICAN SENATOR ON POTENTIAL BID TO FLIP SWING STATE SEAT RED: ‘THIS IS A RACE I KNOW I CAN WIN’

Sununu’s said his “priorities are, affordability, keep taxes low, give our state just a strong, clear voice in Washington,” and that he’s “carrying that message across the state, meeting with activists, meeting with businesses, talking to them about their needs.”

“There are three things I’ve spent my life doing: standing up for New Hampshire, solving tough problems and working with people to get things done for New Hampshire. That’s exactly what I’ll do as senator,” he said.

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

But Sununu won’t have a glide path to the GOP nomination.

Former Sen. Scott Brown, who launched a Republican Senate campaign in New Hampshire in June, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on July 4, 2025, in Exeter, N.H.  (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News )

Former ambassador and former Sen. Scott Brown, who was elected and served three years in the Senate in neighboring Massachusetts, and who, as the 2014 GOP Senate nominee in New Hampshire, narrowly lost to Shaheen during her first re-election, jumped into the race in late June.

“Our campaign will have the necessary resources for the long haul, and allow me to campaign the only way I know how: relentless hard work and a focus on retail politics that Granite State voters expect,” Brown said after Fox News first reported a couple of weeks ago that he hauled in roughly $1.2 million in fundraising the past three months.

SCOOP: FORMER TRUMP AMBASSADOR SHOWCASES MAJOR FUNDRAISING HAUL IN BATTLE TO FLIP DEM SENATE SEAT

Brown has repeatedly taken aim at Sununu the past month over the former senator’s lack of past support for Trump, who holds immense clout over the GOP.

Sununu served as national co-chair on the 2016 Republican presidential campaign of then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who declined to support Trump as the party’s nominee.

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

Former Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, center, is joined by then-New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, right, as they visit a polling location to greet voters casting ballots in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, on Jan. 23, 2024, in Hampton, New Hampshire.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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

Brown endorsed Trump ahead of his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory, which launched him toward the GOP presidential nomination and ultimately the White House. Brown later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

“Anyone who thinks that a never Trump, corporate lobbyist who hasn’t won an election in a quarter century, will resonate with today’s GOP primary voters is living in a different universe. While John was supporting John Kasich in 2016, I was campaigning with Donald Trump,” Brown charged in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Asked about the criticism, Sununu said: “This race is about who is going to do the best job for New Hampshire, and I absolutely can work with the Trump administration on issues important to New Hampshire.”

Brown, pointing to Sununu’s past decade and a half in the private sector, argued that “while John was fighting for special interests, I was serving in the first Trump administration.”

And the New Hampshire Democratic Party also blasted the former senator over his private sector tenure.

“John Sununu went to Washington almost 30 years ago, then cashed in, making millions selling out to corporations and working for Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Wall Street while the people of New Hampshire paid the price,” longtime state party chair Ray Buckley argued in a statement. “The only reason Sununu wants to go back to Washington now is to sell out New Hampshire to the same corporations and special interests that have lined his pockets for years. Granite Staters won’t let him sell us out again.”

Sununu, pushing back, said: “I have never lobbied any member of Congress on any issue for any business. My work has been in technology in the private sector.”

“We need that background of business and private sector experience in Washington. We don’t want a bunch of lawyers making all the decisions in Washington,” Sununu added, in a jab at Brown, an attorney who served as dean of New England Law Boston after returning to the U.S. at the end of the Trump administration.

Trump, whose endorsement in Republican primaries is extremely influential, has remained neutral to date.

President Donald Trump, seen celebrating in Nashua, New Hampshire on Jan. 23, 2024 after winning the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, remains neutral to date in the 2026 Senate primary in the Granite State. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)

But the president may be willing to overlook Sununu’s past jabs.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Trump ally and chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, announced hours after Sununu’s launch that the Senate GOP’s campaign arm would back the former senator’s bid.

And the Senate Leadership Fund, the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans — which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and steered by Trump world veterans — praised Sununu.

Sununu told Fox News Digital he “would certainly like to have his [Trump’s] endorsement, and it would be, I think, helpful in the primary.”

“But the more support and endorsements you can have, the stronger your overall campaign is going to be,” he added as he listed a number of top New Hampshire Republicans who are now backing him, including Steve Stepanek, a longtime top Trump Granite State ally who chaired the president’s 2016 campaign in New Hampshire and served as senior adviser on last year’s campaign.

“They’ve all sort of joined this effort because they know I will be the best and most effective senator for the state of New Hampshire,” he touted.

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

If he clears next September’s primary, Sununu would likely face off against four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.

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Pappas, who launched his Senate campaign in early April, is the clear frontrunner for his party’s nomination.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.”

The post Former GOP senator running to flip key swing state seat says he wants to 'work with President Trump' appeared first on My Blog.

And on Wednesday, Sununu took a big first step towards returning to Capitol Hill as he announced his candidacy in the 2026 race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in New England’s only swing state.

Sununu, in a campaign launch video shared first nationally with Fox News Digital, said that nowadays “Congress just seems loud, dysfunctional, even angry,” and that he wants to “return to the Senate to help calm the waters.”

Sununu is a former three-term representative who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire’s 2002 Senate election. But the senator lost to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch.

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Former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on Sept.15, 2025 in Rye, N.H.  (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)

Shaheen announced earlier this year that she wouldn’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms and Republicans are working to flip the seat as they aim to not only defend but expand their Senate majority.

Now, after nearly two decades in the private sector, Sununu is ready to return to the Senate campaign trail in New England’s only swing state.

“Maybe you’re surprised that I’m running for the Senate again,” Sununu says to the camera in his video. “I’m a bit surprised myself. Why would anyone subject themselves to everything going on there right now. Well, somebody has to step up and lower the temperature. Somebody has to get things done.”

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

But Sununu won’t have a glide path to the GOP nomination.

Former ambassador and former Sen. Scott Brown, who was elected and served three years in the Senate in neighboring Massachusetts, and who, as the 2014 GOP Senate nominee in New Hampshire, narrowly lost to Shaheen during her first re-election, jumped into the race in late June.

Former Sen. Scott Brown, who launched a Republican Senate campaign in New Hampshire in June, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on July 4, 2025, in Exeter, N.H.  (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )

“Our campaign will have the necessary resources for the long haul, and allow me to campaign the only way I know how: relentless hard work and a focus on retail politics that Granite State voters expect,” Brown said after Fox News first reported that he hauled in roughly $1.2 million in fundraising the past three months.

Brown has repeatedly taken aim at Sununu the past month over the former senator’s lack of past support for President Donald Trump, who holds immense clout over the GOP.

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Sununu served as national co-chair on the 2016 Republican presidential campaign of then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who declined to support Trump as the party’s nominee.

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

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

Brown endorsed Trump ahead of his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory, which launched him toward the GOP presidential nomination and ultimately the White House. Brown later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., seen speaking at a policy event in Concord, New Hampshire on Oct. 22, 2024, is not seeking re-election next year. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

“Anyone who thinks that a never Trump, corporate lobbyist who hasn’t won an election in a quarter century will resonate with today’s GOP primary voters is living in a different universe. While John was supporting John Kasich in 2016, I was campaigning with Donald Trump,” Brown charged in a statement to Fox News.

And pointing to Sununu’s past decade and a half in the private sector, Brown argued that “while John was fighting for special interests, I was serving in the first Trump administration. While John was wooing the DC establishment this summer, I have been working with grassroots activists across the Granite State. Senate seats are earned, not handed down.”

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Trump, whose endorsement in Republican primaries is extremely influential, has remained neutral to date.

But the president may be willing to overlook Sununu’s past jabs.

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

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

Former Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, center, is joined by then-New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, right, as they visit a polling location to greet voters casting ballots in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, on Jan. 23, 2024, in Hampton, New Hampshire. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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

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

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And a national Republican strategist familiar with the Senate race in New Hampshire told Fox News Digital last month, “President Trump appreciates winners and understands that John E. Sununu puts this race on the map for Republicans.”

As Fox News reported, Sununu met last month with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and former Sen. Cory Gardner, who served as chair of the Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans. National Republicans view Sununu as the strongest candidate to win back the seat in New Hampshire.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Trump ally and chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is the campaign arm of the Senate GOP. took to social media a couple of hours after Sununu’s announcement to emphasize, “The @NRSC is all-in for @SununuSenator !”

And the Senate Leadership Fund, the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans — which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and steered by Trump world veterans — praised Sununu.

The group’s executive director, Alex Latcham, wrote in a statement that Sununu “is a respected leader and a trusted voice for New Hampshire whose candidacy instantly expands the Senate map and puts the Granite State in play for Republicans.”

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

Four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who launched his Senate campaign in early April, is the clear frontrunner for his party’s nomination.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party quickly took aim at Sununu.

“John Sununu went to Washington almost thirty years ago, then cashed in, making millions selling out to corporations and working for Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Wall Street while the people of New Hampshire paid the price,” longtime state party chair Ray Buckley argued in a statement.“The only reason Sununu wants to go back to Washington now is to sell out New Hampshire to the same corporations and special interests that have lined his pockets for years. Granite Staters won’t let him sell us out again.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) pointed to the brewing primary clash between Sununu and Brown.

“New Hampshire’s GOP Senate primary just got even messier with the entrance of John Sununu, who first went to Washington nearly thirty years ago and then walked through the revolving door to sell out to Wall Street and corporate interests. Republicans have not won a New Hampshire Senate seat in over a decade and 2026 will be no different,” DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle argued.

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While New Hampshire has for over a century held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, its state primary, which will be held next September, is one of the last-in-the-nation.

While Republicans have had success in state elections — they control the governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature — the GOP hasn’t won a Senate election in New Hampshire since 2010.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.”

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