Sununu to Run Against Smith in N.H. 
Republican Rep. John Sununu said Monday he will run for the Senate next year in a challenge to GOP Sen. Bob Smith, a maverick who has drawn the wrath of some within the party.
Though never mentioning Smith by name at a news conference, Sununu needled him with promises to be "a temperate and deliberate voice" in the Senate and "a senator who makes New Hampshire proud."
"We need leadership from those who speak with a clear and consistent voice," he said.
Smith, one of the Senate's most conservative members, often has stood almost alone on issues. He provoked the wrath of many Republicans when he briefly quit the party in 1999 to run for president as an independent. He delivered a stinging attack on the GOP from the Senate floor.
Sununu, 37, a three-term congressman and son of former Gov. John H. Sununu, was urged by many Republicans to challenge Smith. His announcement ended months of anticipation about what is expected to be an expensive and divisive primary.
Others at the news conference said Smith's 1999 defection was a major reason they support Sununu. "We all remember how he walked away from the party," said Edward Dupont, a former state Senate president and former Smith supporter.
Former House Speaker Donna Sytek, another former Smith supporter, said she was offended by Smith's remarks when he left the party, and said he returned only to get a key committee chairmanship.
Sununu stayed away from the issue, but said whoever wins the September primary, "the nominee will have my full and unequivocal support."
The race has national implications for control of the Senate, where Democrats hold a 50-49 advantage.
Smith, 60, who earlier said the challenge could lead to the most divisive primary in state history, had little to add Monday.
"I would have preferred to concentrate our campaign resources on the general election," he said. "I plan to run an aggressive, grassroots campaign."
Former Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Humphrey, a Smith supporter who is running for governor, said Sununu's candidacy is "a disaster for the (state) Republican Party, and has the potential to destroy it for a generation."
State GOP Chairman John Dowd disagreed.
"The character of these two people is such that they don't do negative campaigning," Dowd said.
Democrats see a bitter GOP primary as a plus for Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, who is expected to run for the seat.
Sununu and Smith are social and fiscal conservatives. They oppose abortion, support more defense spending, and stood with President Bush on tax cuts. One of their few disagreements is over proposed oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Sununu favors it; Smith opposes it. 
Copyright 2001 Associated Press