Chris Sununu, Nikki Haley's “best friend,” continues to believe

When he proposed to Nikki Haley at a bar in Milford, N.H., New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu was in a comfortable spot — surrounded by a swarm of media cameras and local voters.

“Oh my god, this thing is hot,” he said into the microphone as his voice came over the speakers. He gave a glowing recap of his day crisscrossing the state with Ms. Haley and urged supporters to vote before they passed the microphone. “I'm going to turn it over to the star,” he said. “I am just the simple governor today. I am the Sherpa, as I like to say.”

Most endorsements of presidential candidates follow a standard path: a leaked announcement, a big spotlight speech, and occasional introductions at events. Mr. Sununu's statement of support for Ms. Haley was not like most statements of support.

Part hype man, part campaign worker, part spokesman, part surrogate, part “new best friend” (his words), Mr. Sununu is ubiquitous in Ms. Haley's campaign.

They have regularly conducted joint interviews with reporters. His comments at events sometimes last almost as long as hers. And he occasionally makes his own attempt to answer a question posed to her. (He often prefaces his friendly interjection with “If I may…”)

It can sometimes look like a partnership, or even a presidential ticket. Ms. Haley regularly sings his praises: “How cool is your governor?” she asked Saturday in Rindge — and Mr. Sununu usually tries to remain deferential.

“I am not a national figure,” he said in an interview. “When I walk into the room, all eyes are on her, as they should be. And she's the star and she's been great. I may know more people on a first name basis, but they aren't there to see me.

When Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed Donald J. Trump — becoming the second former rival to do so in recent days — Ms. Haley appeared increasingly isolated as prominent Republicans coalesced around the former president.

Except Mr. Sununu.

“He's putting his weight behind the wheel, that's for sure,” said Steve Duprey, a former member of the Republican National Committee from New Hampshire.

Mr. Sununu, a moderate political scion in the state who rarely appears in public without a broad grin on his face, is enjoying what appears — for now — to be the end of more than two years in the national spotlight.

When he was elected governor in 2016, he first teased national Republicans with the prospect that he could flip one of his state's two Senate seats in 2022 before opting to run for governor again. He then made a 2024 presidential bid, garnering headlines and cable news specials. Without a foothold in the polls or a clear path to victory, he decided against it.

For at least one more day, he will be the most influential ally of Trump's only remaining Republican challenger. An upset victory for Ms. Haley in New Hampshire would boost his standing among Republicans looking to leave Trump behind. A loss of Ms. Haley, however, would mark a further rejection by Republican voters of the kind of conservatism Mr. Sununu preaches.

Mr. Sununu claims he is not concerned about Mr. Trump's lasting impact on the party.

“Trump is not a real Republican,” Sununu said in the interview. “Is he fiscally conservative? No. Does he believe in smaller government? No.”

Mr. Sununu appears content to end his intraparty crusade against Mr. Trump after he leaves office early next year: “My full plan is to return to the private sector.” But he doesn't seem prepared for a total act of disappearance.

“I love this media thing,” he said in his interview with The New York Times, which was sandwiched between an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” a podcast hit and a Bloomberg interview in the span of 90 minutes. “I have my silent criticism of the media and I have seen how they do it, what they do, how they work. And some things impress me. And some things I'm not. So I thought, oh, maybe I can add a little color to what the media is doing right now and maybe improve that game.

Even if Ms. Haley is humiliated on Tuesday, Mr. Sununu may not be done with electoral politics.

“He brought her from Triple-A to the Major League three or four weeks ago when he endorsed,” said Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist who has managed many New Hampshire primaries, including former Sen. John McCain's 2000 bid. He has her I will leave office as a very successful multi-term governor. You have a lot of offers from New Hampshire. You know, they wanted him for the Senate last time. They can always want it again.”

Mr. Sununu's endorsement of Ms. Haley in December was a big moment for her in New Hampshire, where Mr. Trump led the polls but appeared more vulnerable. And it has given the governor a taste of the spotlight he would have experienced had he taken charge himself.

“It's like fantasy football,” said Thomas D. Rath, a former attorney general and longtime Republican strategist. “I think part of him really wanted to try the bigger game, but I think he was realistic enough to say that's not going to work. So this is probably the next best thing.”

Mr Sununu insisted he had no regrets about not running away. “I've definitely more than scratched the itch and it's not for me, it's really not,” he said. “It's not for my family.”

But he has eagerly joined Ms. Haley's campaign.

Although she has generally avoided reporters' questions, Mr. Sununu rarely brushes aside questions. “Nobody cares,” was his response to a loud question about Senator Tim Scott's support for Mr. Trump, before the Haley campaign had publicly commented.

He spent part of Saturday as a driver, taking Ms. Haley to a Chick-fil-A in Nashua in his red 1966 Ford Mustang convertible, though the top was up amid snow showers.

Mr. Sununu has rarely met a voter he doesn't want to engage. While at a restaurant in Amherst, he discussed teen lingo with Griselle Maya, 41, of Merrimack.

“My child just says 'Brahh,' for full sentences, and the tone of the 'brah' is how you interpret what he means,” Mr. Sununu said, chuckling. Mrs. Maya, who was sitting with her daughter, laughed in agreement.

Ms. Maya said she was a big fan of his. She remained undecided about Mrs. Haley.

Mr. Sununu's personal feed on X, formerly Twitter, is a cascade of pro-Haley propaganda, like a Swiftie whose only era is “Nikki Haley for President.”

The two share many common interests — “we're both kids of the '80s and '90s,” he said — including a love of rock music. Ms. Haley has expressed her admiration for Mr. Sununu's opening song, Guns N' Roses' “Welcome to the Jungle.”

Naturally, his unqualified support for Ms. Haley has drawn the ire of a particularly powerful and vengeful member of the Republican Party.

“I think your governor sucks,” Trump told a crowd on Friday. He added: “He was at every show, this guy. He thinks he's hot. He is nothing. He is nothing.”

Monica Burns, 78, a retiree from Brentwood, N.H., and an independent voter who supports Mr. Trump, said she was put off by Mr. Sununu's support of Ms. Haley and his attitude toward the former president.

“I'm not happy,” said Mrs. Burns. “I don't think he's ever been a Trumper. And that really rubs me the wrong way. No doubt he has been a decent governor, but it really bothers me that he is not for Trump.”

Mr. Sununu, whose approval ratings remain high, shrugs off such criticism.

“My feeling is that once he's left the national stage behind him a little bit,” he said, “we can get back to really good government.”

Michael Gold contributed reporting from Concord and Portsmouth, NH, Anjali Huynh of Hooksett, NH, and Neil Viddor from Kingston, NH