When Washington called, state Sen. Dan Innis picked up the phone.
Republican leaders, including at the White House, asked the Bradford beef farmer to run for U.S. Senate. He did his research and jumped into the race — but Innis said he did so only because he had yet to see another strong conservative candidate who he felt could beat Democratic frontrunner Rep. Chris Pappas.
That all changed when a familiar name resurfaced, floating the idea of running again for his own former office. Innis suspended his campaign last week, endorsing John E. Sununu, a former U.S. senator who is both son and brother to former New Hampshire governors.
Sununu is not officially a candidate in the primary yet.
“I’m not on a mission to go to Washington, D.C. I never have been,” Innis said. “I just felt that someone had to step up.”
During his 10 weeks as a candidate vying to replace Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who plans to retire at the end of her current term, Innis pitched himself as a firebrand conservative who would back President Donald Trump in Congress.
Sununu, who served one term in the Senate and lost his seat to Shaheen in 2008, broke with his party and declined to support Trump in the 2016 and 2024 presidential primaries.
“I don’t think that means he’s anti-Trump by any stretch,” Innis said.
Most important, Innis added, is what he sees as Sununu’s ability to beat Pappas and flip the seat.
Should Sununu run, he’d face former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown in the GOP primary. On the Democrats’ side, Exeter scientist Karishma Manzur has launched a campaign to counter Pappas.
For Innis’s part, he said he plans to run for reelection in the state Senate next year, where he serves 22 towns and cities north and west of Concord, including Boscawen, Warner and Franklin.
“I love what I’m doing in our state Senate,” Innis said. “I love my farm, I love my home, I love my husband. I want to continue to work here if I’m able to do so, and this is that opportunity.”