From Trump to what's wrong in Washington: 8 takeaways from Sununu's State of the State

EXETER — Gov. Chris Sununu gave the State of the State Tuesday in Exeter, touting the recent passage of the state’s “miracle bipartisan" budget and how Washington can learn a lesson or two from the Granite State.

He also weighed in on the Republican primary for president and why he doesn’t want to see former president Donald Trump on the top of the party's ticket.

The event hosted by the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce was underwritten by Cambridge Trust, with additional support from Riverwoods at Exeter.

Here are eight takeaways from the governor's address at The Boulders at RiverWoods:

Why New Hampshire is a model for the rest of the country

Sununu said New Hampshire's recent bipartisan passage of a $15.2 billion biennium budget should be the model for the rest of the country.

The budget, a roughly 11% increase from 2021’s $13.5 billion budget, was passed with a nearly evenly split Legislature.

"We did not let politics stop us," Sununu said. "We didn't let politics give us an excuse to get nothing done."

It was the first time since 1999 that lawmakers sent the governor a budget without having House and Senate negotiators craft a compromise between the two chambers.

"Everyone gave a little to get a lot," he said.

Highlights include no new taxes, elimination of the interest and dividends tax by 2025 and Medicaid rate increases for services to help recruit and retain workers. It also includes the largest increase in state worker salaries in nearly 50 years, giving state employees a 10% pay raise in July with an additional 2% the following year.

The budget also provides $140.8 million for public schools over the next two years and revamps and simplifies the education funding formula to target aid and provide more per student, including to students who receive Education Freedom Account money and attend charter schools.

The budget, he said, also includes $50 million for workforce and affordable housing development.

Affordable housing has been a chronic nationwide issue, but making it more accessible, he said, would bolster economic growth.

"If you don't have a place to live, you're not going to move here," he said. "If you're not going to move here, businesses can't hire you and all the businesses want to be here because we're such a low-tax state — we've become really business friendly."

The state's unemployment rate is currently at a record low of 1.9%. Affordable housing coupled with his efforts for a licensing reform, he said, could attract a younger workforce.

Sununu weighs in on GOP presidential primary

Sununu said the best leader of tomorrow is not from yesterday.

“A new face, a new name, a new idea,” he said, referring to his thoughts on the next president. “When it comes to the former president (Donald Trump), ‘Thank you for your service, we’re moving on.’ The same thing for Biden.”

Sununu, who publicly considered a presidential run, opted against joining the growing field seeking the Republican nomination.

One of the candidates he thinks could rise to the top is Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota.

“I’m very partial to governors,” he said. “Not just because I’m a governor, but because governors versus senators or congressmen have very different skill sets. As governor … it's nice when you get credit, but you have to take the responsibility, you have to be very clear in what you’re doing. You have to be transparent and you gotta have that leadership. Senators and congressmen are kind of just in that policy world, and that’s fine … very few of them have had to make really tough, top-of-the-heap type decisions, and those skills are not always there.”

What about Sen. Tim Scott? “I think this guy's amazing. And you should listen to his story. And I'm not saying he shouldn't be president. I think he'd be a very good president, by the way. But he's an example of a senator that never really had to do the executive function.”

Other GOP candidates that interest Sununu include Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, who he says has taken control of the city compared to what's going on in Chicago or San Francisco, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is a new name in the Republican Party.

"He's all about the woke stuff, and that's fine," Sununu said of Ramaswamy. "But that isn't America's big problem. Right now ... There's no solution to the woke thing. I mean, I can't stand woke. I hate cancel culture. I hate it. But it's an issue in our communities. And I'm a big believer, government is not going to solve a cultural issue that has to be solved in the community."

Is New Hampshire a blue or red state?

Sununu noted the federal delegation representing New Hampshire is all Democratic but pointed out New Hampshire's House, Senate and Executive Council are Republican-controlled.

"That's as purple as it comes," he said. "So yeah, I think we're pretty purple. And I think it's an awesome place, too."

Sununu said if the state goes too blue "that would be a problem" as it would if it went all red.

"Because then the kind of extremes on both sides have the microphone, a little more say and a little more control," he said. "We should never be putting ourselves to either side of the extremes."

What does it take to win the NH primary?

"There is a reason we are first in the nation," Sununu said. "It isn't because it's a nice tradition. It isn't because we do it really well. Although we do it really well."

Sununu said it's about the demands Granite Staters put on the candidates. If you want to win in New Hampshire, Sununu said it comes down to "retail politics."

"I give them all pretty good advice," Sununu said. "I say, 'You got to go all across the state first, right? Don't just go to Manchester or Concord or Portsmouth.'"

Roe v. Wade: ‘ I think it should have stayed precedent myself’

When it comes to the battle between pro-choice and pro-life, Sununu said, nationally, it’s a political mess.

In New Hampshire, abortion is legal for up to 24 weeks with the exception of fatal fetal diagnosis, follow legislation signed by Sununu in 2021 and subsequent updates.

Sununu said he is not looking to change that.

“Roe v. Wade was the law of the land,” he said. “I had no problem with Roe v. Wade, I think it should have stayed precedent myself. The day before (the overturn) and the day after (the overturn), nothing changed in New Hampshire.”

However, there were attempts on both sides of the aisle.

Senate Republicans killed two bills, one that would enshrine abortion rights in state law and another to repeal criminal penalties against doctors who perform abortions after 24 weeks.

Both proposals narrowly passed the House.

Sununu supported the bill repealing criminal and civil penalties against doctors.

Other proposals in the House to impose further restrictions, including banning abortion after six weeks, were rejected.

Why NH prohibits sales of liquor in private stores?

New Hampshire is one of the few states that run liquor stores. As a free market conservative, Sununu said he doesn’t think the government should be running any business.

“But – get ready for political hypocrisy, here it comes – we’re really good at running our liquor stores,” he said. “We’ve been doing it since the '50s and we’re very good at it … we’re ranked top five in the country.”

The privatization of the liquor industry, he said, would profit the state with billions of dollars.

“But that would be one-time money,” he said. “The liquor store provides a lot of revenue into the state. Even though we don’t tax it, we take the little small profit margin that goes into our general fund.”

Compared to the packie stores in Massachusetts, Sununu said "We're winning every day of the week, and we're cheaper with better products."

In 2021, the New Hampshire Liquor Commission generated an all-time high in total gross sales of $765 million, with $155 million in total revenue. The revenue supports state services, including education, health and social services, transportation, natural resource protection, addiction treatment and prevention programs.

More: Sununu wants NH liquor stores to sell marijuana. Lawmakers move toward studying it.

Should NH ban assault weapons?

When asked about his stance on assault weapons, Sununu reiterated his position for no further gun restrictions.

“In New Hampshire, I think we’re very responsible when it comes to firearms,” he said. “I don’t think we need any major changes in the laws.”

Sununu said New Hampshire is ranked as one of the safest states in terms of firearms and he is not looking to ban anything anytime soon. Still, the state has lenient gun laws, allowing the purchase, open carry and conceal carry of firearms without a license for anyone over 18.

The New Hampshire House defeated several gun bills this session, including a resolution that urged Congress to pass an “assault weapons ban.”

“You look at the states of the country with the tightest gun laws, some of them have the highest rates of gun violence,” he said. “So it isn't if we just pass a law, it'll all be OK. Let's not fool ourselves with that.”

The vast majority of the issues around firearms right now, he said, are really around mental health.

“It’s undiagnosed, untreated, unmitigated mental health issues, specifically around young people in schools,” he said. “Not to make guns a mental health issue but…mass shootings were getting crazy in America about 15 years ago. I’m not blaming mass shootings on social media but the disconnection, especially that young people are experiencing with their screen time and social media and all the cyber-bullying that happens, they feel alone and isolated.”

That’s one of the reasons, he said that he signed an executive order telling kids to go outside and play.

Sununu: ‘Equity punishes success’

Sununu believes that everyone deserves equal opportunities.

But when asked he said equality is not the same as equity.

He used running a race as an example to explain the situation.

“Equality is – let’s put it this way – we’re all going to run a race…we’re all at the starting line, you say go and everyone has the same opportunity, you’re all in the same place,” he explained. “Equity … you all run the race but when you get near the end, everyone needs to slow down to the slowest runner so you could all finish the race at the same time.”

Sununu said equity reduces everybody to the common denominator, something that is “downright un-American.”

“(Equity) goes everything against we are in terms of being the best, striving to your highest potential, and not being punished for it,” he said. “Equity punishes success.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Gov. Sununu's State of the State in Exeter: 8 takeaways