John Sununu is running on his family’s legacy in New Hampshire. His brother is staying on the sidelines

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The campaign signs across New Hampshire read “Sununu” in block letters.

They’re for Republican Senate nominee John E. Sununu, who held the seat from 2003 to 2009 and is running to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. But they also invoke the legacy of New Hampshire’s preeminent GOP family, including his younger brother, former four-term Gov. Chris Sununu; their father, former Gov. John H. Sununu; and their mother, Nancy Sununu, a former state party chair.

Rep. Chris Pappas, the Democratic Senate nominee, recently said that he believes his opponent is not putting his first name on some of his campaign signage as a way to confuse voters.

That’s something both John and Chris Sununu deny – and the younger Sununu, in an interview with CNN, went a step further.

“Look, if people thought they were voting for me, my brother would be up by 30 points. Come on,” Chris Sununu said.

Asked if his older brother had asked him to campaign with him, Chris Sununu said no.

“I’m not involved at all in my brother’s campaign,” he said. “We all believe in service, but you got to do it on your own. You got to stand on your own two feet. And I’m incredibly supportive, I’d do anything he asked me to, but he knows and I know that you’ve got to run your own race.”

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Granite State political observers have noted the brothers aren’t campaigning together in public. Polls show Pappas leading by several points in a race Republicans hope they can win as they try to prevent Democrats from netting the four seats they need to win the Senate.

“Chris has campaigned with and supported John, along with many other New Hampshire candidates, and of course, everyone in New Hampshire knows that he supports his brother,” Mike Schrimpf, a spokesperson for John E. Sununu’s campaign, said in a statement. “More importantly, New Hampshire knows the Sununu family’s tradition of independent leadership.”

The former governor, who is now president and CEO of Airlines for America, told CNN that he has appeared with his brother at private fundraisers, including those hosted by friends, but hasn’t done any forward-facing retail politicking, something that Chris Sununu said is crucial in New Hampshire.

“Look, am I going to support my brother? Of course I am,” he added. “Me getting on an ad or something saying I hope you vote for my brother. Like that’s lame. Like what’s the point of that? I hope people understand that.”

But Chris Sununu joined Maine Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles at a town hall event in Wells, Maine, earlier this month.

“If people ask and I can make it work on my schedule and I believe in what they’re doing, then I’m always happy to help,” Sununu said.

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新罕布什尔州各地的竞选标语上都用粗体字母写着“Sununu”。

这些标语支持共和党参议员候选人约翰·E·苏努努，他曾于2003年至2009年担任该席位，此次竞选是为了接替即将退休的民主党参议员珍妮·沙欣。但这些标语也提及了新罕布什尔州共和党显赫家族的传承，其中包括他的弟弟、曾任四届州长的克里斯·苏努努；他们的父亲、前州长约翰·H·苏努努；以及他们的母亲、前州党主席南希·苏努努。

民主党参议员候选人克里斯·帕帕斯众议员最近表示，他认为他的对手在一些竞选标语上不写自己的名字，是为了迷惑选民。

约翰·苏努努和克里斯·苏努努都否认了这一点——而年轻的苏努努在接受 CNN 采访时，更是进一步否认了这一点。

“听着，如果人们以为他们是在投票给我，那我哥哥的得票率就会领先30个百分点。拜托，”克里斯·苏努努说道。

当被问及他的哥哥是否邀请他一起参加竞选活动时，克里斯·苏努努回答说没有。

“我完全没有参与我哥​​哥的竞选活动，”他说。“我们都相信服务，但你必须靠自己。你必须自立自强。我非常支持他，他让我做什么我都愿意，但他知道，我也知道，你必须走自己的路。”

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新罕布什尔州的政治观察人士注意到，这对兄弟并没有公开一起竞选。民调显示，帕帕斯在共和党希望赢得的这场选举中领先几个百分点，共和党人希望借此阻止民主党人获得赢得参议院所需的四个席位。

约翰·E·苏努努竞选团队发言人迈克·施林普夫在一份声明中表示：“克里斯一直与约翰一起竞选，并支持他以及许多其他新罕布什尔州的候选人，当然，新罕布什尔州的每个人都知道他支持他的兄弟。更重要的是，新罕布什尔州了解苏努努家族独立领导的传统。”

这位前州长，现任美国航空公司总裁兼首席执行官，告诉 CNN，他曾与他的兄弟一起出席私人筹款活动，包括朋友举办的活动，但他没有进行任何面向选民的竞选活动，而克里斯·苏努努表示，这在新罕布什尔州至关重要。

“听着，我会支持我弟弟吗？当然会，”他补充道。“但我在广告里说‘希望你们投票给我弟弟’，这太没劲了。这有什么意义呢？我希望大家能明白这一点。”

但本月初，克里斯·苏努努与缅因州共和党州长候选人鲍比·查尔斯一起参加了在缅因州威尔斯举行的一场市政厅活动。

“如果有人提出请求，而我的时间安排允许，并且我相信他们所做的事情，那么我总是很乐意提供帮助，”苏努努说。