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       CONCORD, N.H. – Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire announced Tuesday morning that he will seek reelection and not run for U.S. Senate next year in a race that could ultimately decide whether the GOP wins back control the chamber in the 2022 midterm elections.

       Sununu ended months of speculation of whether he would challenge Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, by saying, "I'm going to run for a fourth term" as governor.

       "My responsibility is not to the gridlock and politics of Washington, it’s to the citizens of New Hampshire. And I’d rather push myself 120 miles per hour delivering wins for New Hampshire than to slow down and end up on Capitol Hill debating partisan politics without results," Sununu said at a news conference at the governor's mansion in Concord, New Hampshire's capital city.

       "That’s why I’m going to run for a fourth term, and I’d be honored if the people of New Hampshire elect me again as their governor," he emphasized.

       WHAT SUNUNU TOLD FOX NEWS LAST WEEK ABOUT A 2022 SENATE RUN

       National Republicans view Hassan, a first-term senator and Sununu's predecessor as New Hampshire governor, as very vulnerable heading into next year’s midterms. And they saw Sununu, whose poll numbers are flagging but still remain very high among Republicans and in positive territory among independents, and who's carefully navigated his relationship with former President Donald Trump the past six years, as their key to flipping a crucial blue seat red.

       New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announces he will run for reelection and not seek a seat in the U.S. Senate Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021, in Concord, N.H. (Photo: Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)

       The Republicans need a net gain of just one seat to recapture the Senate majority they lost when they were swept in January’s twin Senate runoff elections in Georgia. While they’re defending 20 of the 34 seats up for grabs next year – including five open seats – the GOP sees pick up opportunities to flip a blue seat red in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and New Hampshire.

       The lobbying effort by national Republicans this year included phone calls from Senate GOP Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other prominent Republicans.

       THE GOP'S FULL COURT PRESS TO RECRUIT NH GOV. SUNUNU TO RUN FOR SENATE

       Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the conservative firebrand from Texas and runner-up to Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential nomination race, told the audience at the Las Vegas conference to urge Sununu to run for the Senate.

       "Every person here needs to come up to Chris and say ‘governor is great but you need to run for Senate.’ Because this man could single handily retire Chuck Schumer as majority leader of the Senate," Cruz said to applause.

       Sununu's well-received appearance this past weekend at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership conference in Las Vegas – a major gathering of top party leaders, activists, rainmakers and mega donors – sparked more speculation that Sununu was leaning toward a Senate run, which could have made the New Hampshire showdown one of the most competitive, combative and expensive races in the country.

       GOP Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire addresses the crowd at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas, on Nov. 5, 2021. (Fox News)

       "I might run for governor. I might run for Senate. I don’t know," Sununu told the crowd on Friday night before boasting "trust me, I’m going to win either way."

       "Sorry, Maggie," he added.

       Sununu said on Tuesday that "there was a period where I was definitely leaning to running (for the Senate) and I definitely went back and forth a bit."

       The governor told Fox News that "while this might have been an interesting adventure and maybe, ultimately a better step, not just in terms of political opportunity, I don’t really think in those terms, but at the end of the day I feel very at peace with this decision. I really do. I think it’s best for the state. I think it’s best for myself."

       ONE YEAR UNTIL 2022 MIDTERMS, REPUBLICANS PREDUCT THEY'LL WIN BACK HOUSE, SENATE MAJORITIES

       "When you look at what their (senators) job is and what a governor’s job is… it’s not even close. I can’ tell you how many senators told me ‘you just going to have to wait around a couple of years to get anything done.’ Can you imagine me sitting around a couple of years," Sununu emphasized. "They debate and talk and nothing gets done…. That’s not the world I live in."

       Sununu said once again that if he had run for Senate, he was confident he would have run.

       And asked about the possibility of launching a 2024 run for the GOP presidential nomination, Sununu said "I haven't ruled out going to Washington, just a senator right now."

       With Sununu not running for Senate, speculation quickly turned to other Republicans who might launch a campaign.

       Former GOP Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who moved to New Hampshire and came close to defeating Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 2014, and who served as ambassador to New Zealand during the Trump administration, told Fox News that he hopes Sununu reconsiders his decision.

       Brown shared that moments after Sununu's announcement, he started getting calls from Republicans in New Hampshire and the nation's capital urging him to run. But Brown said that a 2022 campaign is not on his radar right now, as he's supporting his wife Gail Huff Brown's run for Congress in New Hampshire's First District.

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       Speculation is also shining on former GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who was defeated by Hassan by just over 1,000 votes in 2016. But sources close to Ayotte seemed to downplay talk that the former senator would run for her old job next year.

       GOP sources say there's also chatter that New Hampshire Education Department commissioner Frank Edelblut, who was likely to run for governor if Sununu launched a a Senate campaign, may now bid for Senate in the wake of Sununu's announcement.

       There's already one declared Republican candidate in the 2022 race for Senate in New Hampshire. Retired Gen. Don Bolduc, who unsuccessfully ran for the 2020 GOP Senate nomination, launched his campaign nearly a year ago.