Chris Sununu endorsed Republican former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte to succeed him as governor.

“Kelly Ayotte understands that with strong fiscal management, limited government, and local control, NH has set the Gold Standard for the country,” Sununu posted on X Wednesday afternoon. “She’s the Republican who will win in November and hit the ground running in January. Count me in as an enthusiastic supporter!”

Sununu has hinted at an endorsement for a while now. He ultimately threw his support behind Ayotte, the frontrunner, instead of Chuck Morse, who served in leadership of the New Hampshire Senate during Sununu’s tenure, including as the Senate’s president from 2020 to 2022. Morse briefly served as acting governor for three days before Sununu took office.

Morse responded by calling the endorsement “comical” and said it is no surprise based on their shared politics.

Morse and Sununu have disagreed several times in recent years over things like masks during the pandemic, transgender rights and issues, and their support of former president Donald Trump.

“New Hampshire Republicans know who has been in the trenches working for them and who has been in the boardroom working for herself. I think they will put as much stock into this endorsement as they did in the Governor’s endorsement of Nikki Haley,” Morse said. “We disagree today as to who should be the next Governor. I’d take my track record of ideas, views, and accomplishments over Chris Sununu’s any day.”

Ayotte has garnered several other high-profile endorsements, including those of the New Hampshire Police Association and the state employee’s union.

In a statement, Ayotte warned that her Democratic opponents, Joyce Craig and Cinde Warmington, would take the state in the wrong direction. Ayotte pledged to keep New Hampshire on the “Sununu path.”

“I’m proud to have Governor Sununu’s endorsement, and I look  forward to working with him to spread our message of keeping our state safe, prosperous and free to voters across our great state,” Ayotte said. “Under Governor Sununu’s leadership, New Hampshire is the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family, and when I’m governor, I will work tirelessly to keep us moving in the right direction.”

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send he