John E. Sununu

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John Sununu
Junior Senator from New Hampshire
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2003– Serving with Judd Gregg
Preceded by	Robert C. Smith
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2009)
Born	September 10 1964 (age 42) Boston, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kitty Sununu
Religion	Roman Catholic

John Edward Sununu (born September 10, 1964) is a Republican United States Senator from New Hampshire.

[edit] Personal Background

Sununu, one of eight siblings, was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Nancy Hayes and former Governor of New Hampshire and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu.^[1] He has Palestinian, Irish, Scottish, and English ancestry. Sununu earned both B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1991. After graduating, he worked in the high-tech industry, at one time for the company of Dean Kamen. He is currently the only US Senator of Arab descent. [1]. He is also the youngest Senator currently in (or out of) office.

[edit] Political Offices

First elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1996, he was reelected twice before winning a United States Senate seat from New Hampshire in 2002. Sununu first defeated the Republican incumbent Bob Smith in the primary. He then went on to edge Governor Jeanne Shaheen in the general election by a margin of 50-47%, a result that was clouded by accusations of dirty tricks. In June 2004, former Republican consultant Allen Raymond pleaded guilty to jamming Democratic Party lines set up to get New Hampshire Democrats to the polls in 2002, an action that some (most notably former Senator Smith[2]) believe may have contributed to the outcome. A judge sentenced Raymond to five months in jail in February 2005. Chuck McGee, the former state GOP chair, was sentenced to seven months for his role. Raymond alleged that James Tobin, Northeast field director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, masterminded the plot. In December 2005, Tobin was convicted of two federal felonies arising from the phone-jamming and sentenced to ten months in prison. Tobin's lawyers are appealing the verdict.

At age 38 Sununu was the youngest member of the Senate, a distinction he still holds. He is the only person of Palestinian background elected to the U.S. Senate. He and his wife, Catherine ("Kitty"), have three children.

[edit] U.S. Senate Career

Sen. Sununu joins Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) to address the Patriot Act and the immediate need to reform it. Sununu was one of few Republicans to join the opposition to call for reform to the act.

Sununu has taken some positions contrary to the Bush administration and the Republican leadership. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and has voted to require child safety locks with the transfer of handguns. He opposes restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba, and was one of only two Republicans to vote in favor of terminating funds for TV Martí, which broadcasts anti-Castro programming in Cuba. He was one of a small group of Republicans to vote in favor of banning loans to China for any nuclear projects, and in September of 2005 he voted to disapprove a new rule set in place by the Administrator of the EPA delisting coal and other energy sources from the Clean Air Act. He was among the group of conservative Republicans to vote against the prescription drug bill passed in 2003.

In July 2005, to show solidarity with Sen. Arlen Specter, who had lost his hair due to chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease, Sununu shaved his head.

He also has become well known as one of the 5 Republican Senators who joined Democrats in a filibuster of the USA PATRIOT Act renewal conference report. This caused the Republican leadership to extend the original legislation until a compromise bill was forged.

In January 2006, at a hearing in front of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on the Broadcast Flag, he was one of the very few present to criticize the legislation. He stated:

• In all cases [of previous technological advancements in the US], we didn't need to step in with a significant statutory government-regulated mandate on technology that consumers use to enjoy this material,
• I don't know of a case where we were discussing such a dramatic step where the federal government will legislatively mandate a specific type of technology to be incorporated in all of this material. Maybe the sky really is falling this time, but I think it is worth suggesting a little bit of skepticism, it's worth offering up a little doubt before we not just entertain this, but jump ahead to what exemptions were required.
• The very technologies that some seem to be afraid of are driving innovation, and driving creativity as we sit here today. In fact, we have an unprecedented wave of creativity and product development and content development... I think the history of government mandates... is that it always, always restricts innovation. Why would we think this one special time... it will actually encourage innovation? [3]

In October 2006, Sununu voted in support of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, suspending the right of habeas corpus for non-citizen detainees. In defense of the vote, he told reporters "The Constitution is not a suicide pact." [4]

On March 14, 2007, Sen. Sununu became the first Republican senator to call for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after a controversy over U.S. Attorney firings. Sununu cited his anger with the mismanagement by Gonzales and the lack of trustworthiness by GOP Senators towards Gonzales.[5]

[edit] Election 2008

Main article: New Hampshire United States Senate election, 2008

Sununu is up for re-election in 2008. Since Sununu won a close race (51-47%) in a Republican year, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has made New Hampshire a top target.

Also, other negative factors that face Sununu are that the two Republican House Representatives, who represented the sole two districts in this small state lost to Democratic challengers. Also, the Democrats control the New Hampshire General Court for the first time in 132 years. If a strong Democratic challenger is fielded, this race could become increasingly intense. A February 1, 2007 poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire indicates that only 45% of New Hampshire voters hold a favorable opinion of Sununu.

There are rumors that former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat who lost to Sununu in 2002 might consider running again, a new poll released shows she has a 44-34 lead over Sununu. The mayor of Portsmouth, Democrat Steve Marchand, has announced he will run for the seat. Marchand claims he received information that neither Shaheen nor Governor John Lynch is interested in running.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• United States Senator John E. Sununu official Senate site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission - John E Sununu campaign finance reports and data
• New York Times - John E. Sununu News collected news and commentary
• On the Issues - John Sununu issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - John E. Sununu campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart - Senator John Sununu (NH) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - John E. Sununu profile
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: John Sununu voting record
• 2008 New Hampshire Senate Race at 2008RaceTracker.com

• Sununu questions the legality of warrantless domestic spying program
• 2002 Republican Primary Debate between Sununu and Robert Smith