Corey Lewandowski, the political operative who was President Trump’s first 2016 campaign manager, said Tuesday that he would not seek a United States Senate seat in New Hampshire, ending months of speculation about a run that would have tested the Granite State’s appetite for Trumpism and had put some Republican state leaders on edge.
Mr. Lewandowski, who faced the prospect of a grueling primary race and a general election against the Democratic incumbent, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, made his announcement in a series of tweets. He wrote that he was “certain” that he would have won, but had instead decided to focus on ensuring that Mr. Trump is re-elected in 2020.
Mr. Lewandowski would most likely have had support from key parts of Mr. Trump’s political apparatus. In August, the president all but endorsed Mr. Lewandowski in an interview with a New Hampshire radio host. “I will say this — if he ran, he would be a great senator. If he ran and won, he’d be a great senator,” Mr. Trump said in the interview. “He would be great for New Hampshire.”
If he had run, Mr. Lewandowski would have been the subject of intense scrutiny, including of the clients he has represented since Mr. Trump entered the White House. He was fired by Mr. Trump’s children as the campaign manager in June 2016, but the president has retained a fondness for him and speaks with him often.
Before that, Mr. Lewandowski helped Mr. Trump notch his first primary victory in New Hampshire, which helped vault him to the Republican nomination.
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.