With the 2022 election season officially upon us, the question is no longer whether Republicans will do well, but how big the red wave could get. The results of last week’s election coupled with Joe Biden’s cratering approval ratings point to a very favorable environment for the GOP.

That shift in public sentiment over the last year has firmly put the Senate back in play, and one race that could help decide things will occur in New Hampshire. Democrat Maggie Hassan is not popular and has not been polling well recently. She’s fared especially poorly when pitted against current New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. That led to a lot of speculation that Sununu might run against Hassan. In fact, it seemed to be a no-brainer next move for him.

Unfortunately, he’s decided to stay in New Hampshire, and that has Democrats breathing a huge sigh of relief. That news came per an announcement made this morning.

Now: Gov. @ChrisSununu IS RUNNING FOR A 4TH TERM #nhpolitics #WMUR

— John DiStaso (@jdistaso) November 9, 2021

This doesn’t mean Republicans can’t still retake the Senate, but it makes things more difficult. Winning New Hampshire would have been a major positive that allows for a loss in somewhere like Nevada, Arizona, or Georgia. Now, the path gets narrower if they can’t pull off a pickup in the Granite State.

Yet, there is a positive spin that you can put on this. Hassan is doing badly enough that she could possibly be beaten by another Republican even though Sununu would have been an almost certain winner. The GOP needs to put money into the race, find a good candidate to back, and go all out regardless of Sununu’s announcement. No stone can be left unturned before the 2022 election. Deep blue New Jersey would probably have a Republican governor right now had the party invested there.

Still, if you are a Democrat, you have to feel good about Sununu passing on this race. It’s not going to make the coming pain of 2022 go away completely, but if Democrats can hang onto a 50/50 Senate, it might soften the blow just a little bit and allow Biden to keep the destruction coming. As for Republicans, they must regroup from here and put themselves in a position to win back the Senate regardless. Democrat-held seats in Nevada and Arizona are especially vulnerable, and there’s no reason to think the GOP can’t compete in Georgia either. Assume nothing and do everything.