Republican Governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu has defended his seat against Democratic challenger Dan Feltes, a state senator, per Insider and Decision Desk HQ.
The candidates:
Sununu's handling of COVID-19 in New Hampshire, which has one of the lowest infection rates in the country, had skyrocketed his approval rating. The incumbent, first elected in 2016, had already a relatively high approval rating of 57% before the pandemic. Today, three in four New Hampshire voters approve of the job he is doing as governor, which offered a boost to his reelection chances.
The governor had heavily campaigned on his coronavirus strategy to give him an edge over his opponent, whom he said lacks executive experience to oversee the response.
"Dan Feltes has no management experience in his entire career — none," Sununu said in an interview with local news outlet WMUR. "But he's going to come in and manage the biggest crisis the state has ever had, the biggest economic responsibilities we've ever had."
Feltes, a longtime attorney who has been state senator since 2014, had battled Sununu throughout his term. The governor has vetoed 79 bills — a record-setting number of rejections in recent New Hampshire legislative history — many of which were championed by Feltes, the Senate's majority leader. The Democratic candidate had centered his platform around pushing for key policies Sununu has blocked, including implementing paid leave plans and raising the $7.25 minimum wage, and has likened Sununu's governance and upbringing to that of President Donald Trump's.
"Chris Sununu grew up with everything handed to him and, just like Trump, Sununu has been enriching himself, his family, and his donors at the expense of taxpayers while working families struggle," Feltes said. "Especially right now we need policies that help working families, like paid family and medical leave, job training, and expanded access to health care."
The stakes:
New Hampshire voters stay pretty stuck to the middle of the political spectrum, regularly flipping their support for Democrats and Republicans in state and national races. While Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton carried the state in 2016, Republican Sununu won the governorship that year. And though former Vice President Joe Biden led the 2020 presidential polls, Sununu was on track to win again in November.
The governor was one of eight incumbent governors whose 2020 bid may have rested on the pandemic — and he cruised to victory due to his popularity.
The money race: Feltes led in fundraising for September, collecting $290,000 versus Sununu's $212,000, according to local news station NPHR. Still, the incumbent raised more cash overall, with a total of $1.7 million, compared to Feltes' roughly $1.4 million.
What the polls said: The most recent polling data before the election showed Sununu with a massive double-digit lead over Feltes, according to RealClearPolitics' averages.
What the experts said: Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics each rated the race as likely Republican.
