Republican New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu took one of those officially unofficial steps to making a run for the White House, setting up a fundraising committee that can raise millions of dollars from unnamed donors for a campaign launch.
The Chris Christie of this election cycle established the “Live Free or Die” committee, a 501(c)(4) group that does not have the reporting requirements of a SuperPAC or an exploratory committee, which are more formal organizations. Sununu would be the second formal challenger to the GOP’s titular head, Donald Trump, joining former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on the slate.
“I’m excited to talk about the successes that we’ve had in New Hampshire: lowering taxes, creating educational choices for parents and kids, and building opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive,” Sununu said in a statement to NBC News. “What we’ve done in New Hampshire is a great model for the federal government — specifically promoting the conservative tenets of limited government, local control, and individual responsibility.”