Corey Lewandowski says he won't seek Senate seat in New Hampshire
Corey Lewandowski, President Trump's former campaign manager, ended months of speculation by announcing Tuesday that he will not run for a U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire. Lewandowski had been considering a bid to unseat Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
Lewandowski said in a series of tweets that while he is "certain" he would have won, he decided to forgo a Senate campaign "after much consideration."
"My priorities remain my family and ensuring that @realDonaldTrump is re-elected POTUS," he tweeted. "I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support I have received from people across New Hampshire and the country."
Lewandowksi said he plans to endorse a Republican the primary.
(1/3) After much consideration I have decided to forgo a campaign for the US Senate. While taking on a career politician from the Washington swamp is a tall order, I am certain I would have won. My priorities remain my family and ensuring that @realDonaldTrump is re-elected POTUS
— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) December 31, 2019
(3/3) One who will support strict constitutionalist judges; and one who will fight for our values, not those of Washington, DC. Accordingly, I will be making an endorsement in the Republican Primary for US Senate in the near future to ensure we defeat Jeanne Shaheen in 2020.
— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) December 31, 2019
Lewandowski said in August he was "seriously considering" running for the Senate in New Hampshire and planned to discuss a potential campaign with the president. Mr. Trump lauded him weeks later, telling a New Hampshire radio station Lewandowski would be a "great senator" and "great for New Hampshire."
Had Lewandowksi entered the race, he would've faced several others in the Republican primary, including former state House Speaker Bill O'Brien, retired General Don Bolduc, and attorney Bryant "Corky" Messner.
Following Lewandowsk's announcement, Josh Marcus-Blank, spokesman for the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said the three Republican candidates would "tear each other down in the contentious primary Lewandowski has left behind."
"Senator Shaheen will continue working across the aisle for New Hampshire, leading efforts to lower prescription drug costs and making sure veterans and their families get the benefits they deserve," he added.
Lewandowski was ousted from the Trump campaign in June 2016 after a growing number of Republicans and then-candidate Trump's children urged his firing. He remained a close ally of the president's and opened a political consulting firm in Washington, D.C., soon after the 2016 election. Lewandowski, however, left the shop in May 2017 amid scrutiny of his work with foreign clients.
Shaheen has represented New Hampshire in the Senate since 2009. While Mr. Trump won the New Hampshire Republican primary, he went on to lose the state in the general election by fewer than 3,000 votes.