Q: Will President Trump Hurt your Reelection Chances? A: “My Focus Is on the 603. I’m Chris Sununu, the Governor. The President Is the President. The People See Us as Two Different Individuals.”
In an interview with WKXL’s Chris Ryan, Governor Sununu discusses the current phase of reopening businesses and activities which had been closed during the COVID-19 shutdown of non-essential businesses. The Governor’s “Stay at Home” order has officially been downgraded to an “Advisory”.
Recently there have been increases in Coronavirus cases in states which did not take as severe precautions as New Hampshire. The Governor feels that the increases can be attributed to people throughout the country being less diligent in their personal habits—social distancing, washing hands, etc., and he expects an across the board increase in COVID cases. However, Governor Sununu is confident that New Hampshire’s healthcare system has the capacity to deal with a surge in cases. He is even confident that we now have a handle on controlling outbreaks of the disease at long term care facilities.
Governor Sununu does not plan on going back to a shut down unless the outbreak of COVID-19 cases is 4 to 5 times what it was in February. He wants schools to reopen in August. There are two separate plans, one for colleges and universities and another plan for K-12 schools. Districts in the state are looking at making flexible plans for reopening while trying to follow guidelines which will limit the spread of the Coronavirus. Additional federal funding is available for school districts for various projects, like providing a remote learning alternative for families which have concerns about sending their children back to school.
The last segment of the interview deals with Governor Sununu’s reelection campaign. The Governor claims that he has been too busy to give it much thought. So far, he has two Republican challengers in the Primary Election on September 8th—radio personality, Karen Testerman and a mysterious Mr. Nobody from Keene, NH. At this point, he has not considered debating his Republican opponents. There are two Democratic challengers who are engaged in their own primary elections—Dan Feltes and Andru Volinsky.
Chris Sununu was asked if President Trump’s low approval rating in New Hampshire would affect the Governor’s reelection chances. Chris Sununu feels that his performance as governor for the last four years will determine whether he is elected for another term. He believes that the people of the Granite State are very deliberate in voting for the person and not necessarily along party lines.
