Hours after Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., announced her retirement Wednesday, Rye, New Hampshire resident and former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown sent out strong signals he would seek the Republican nomination for her open seat in 2026.

“I am looking seriously at it,” Brown, 65, told Newsmax. Others close to Brown, who lost a tight (51.5%-48.2%) race against Shaheen in 2014, told Newsmax he has already made up his mind and will become a candidate soon — even if moderate Republican and popular former Gov. Chris Sununu decides to enter the race. 

“Sununu has ‘first dibs’ on the race,” former state Attorney General Tom Rath, a seasoned veteran of GOP presidential primaries, told Newsmax. “If he runs, he wins.”

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