Sununu's Cash Edge Grows While Brown Falls Behind In Q1 Fundraising

By Leonard Robinson, NH Journal

Fundraising reports from the first quarter of 2026 in New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race show John E. Sununu raised more than $1.5 million and added $1 million to his cash-on-hand total, while his primary opponent, Scott Brown, spent more money than he took in.

Added to polls showing Sununu with a double-digit lead in the primary, the fundraising numbers are likely to feed the narrative that Sununu is the presumptive nominee, while Brown is struggling for relevance.

“Sununu’s fundraising and fiscal discipline shows that he continues to go toe-to-toe with Chris Pappas and the Chuck Schumer money machine,” the Sununu campaign said in a statement. “Despite raising $3.3 million, Pappas only added $1 million cash on hand, about the same amount the Sununu campaign added. All told, Chris Pappas has raised nearly $10 million, spent $6 million, and is in a statistical tie with John Sununu.”

Sununu has raised more than $3.2 million since entering the race last October.

Meanwhile, Pappas raised $3.3 million in the first quarter of 2026 and has more than $4 million in cash on hand.

“When you keep your focus on jobs, the economy, and affordability, the voters respond,” Sununu said. “We are running a disciplined campaign focused on the issues most important to Granite Staters and on bringing the New Hampshire Way to Washington.”

FEC filings for Brown’s campaign show that Brown raised nearly $298,000 in the first quarter while spending more than $445,000 over that same period. The campaign has around $780,000 in cash on hand at the end of this reporting cycle.

Brown has raised just above $1 million since entering the race last June.

When Sununu entered the race and was endorsed by President Donald Trump, political professionals predicted that Brown’s big-dollar donations would dry up as GOP donors lined up with the White House and Sununu.

“His fundraising is done,” a New Hampshire Republican with ties to the White House told NHJournal. “The money is gone.”

That appears to be the case. Most of Brown’s contributions (totaling $168,000) came from small donors giving $200 or less. The remaining $130,000 came from larger donations, most of which were out of state.

In fact, Brown received only two checks greater than $500 (one for $3,500 and one for $1,000) from New Hampshire residents. Only three residents of the state gave him $500.

Brown’s fundraising problem wasn’t helped when the Senate Leadership Fund announced its $17 million pledge to Sununu’s bid earlier this month. Trump endorsed Sununu’s campaign in February.

Brown has maintained that he has no plans of dropping out of the race. “People don’t like dynasties,” Brown told WBZ-TV’s Jon Keller.

National Republicans are giving the Granite State’s Senate race more attention as their numbers fade in other competitive contests. North Carolina, which currently has a Republican U.S. senator, is now a “Leans Democrat” state in the latest Cook Political Report rankings, and Ohio is now ranked as a toss-up.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.