RNC's Gruters To Headline NH GOP Unity Breakfast

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters will headline the state GOP’s post-primary “Unity Breakfast,” a sign that the small state in deep-blue New England has the attention of the national party.

The breakfast will take place on Monday, Sept. 14, at the Grappone Center in Concord. Thanks to New Hampshire’s wildly late primary date — the second latest in the nation — there are just 56 days between winning the nomination and the November general election.

“I am excited to welcome the RNC chairman to New Hampshire. His visit is a clear indication of just how important the 2026 midterms are and the critical role New Hampshire will play in them,” said NHGOP Chairman Scott Maltzie.

Gruters, who serves in the Florida Senate, was elected RNC chair last year after Michael Whatley left to run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina.

Despite the unfavorable political climate for Republicans in the 2026 midterms, the RNC has crushed its Democratic counterpart in fundraising under Gruters’ leadership. The RNC currently has about $128 million in cash on hand and no debt, while the DNC has just over $16 million in cash and more than $18 million in debt.

And that’s just one slice of the fundraising competition pie. The DNC, its congressional counterparts, and the major Democratic super PACs reported $404 million in their most recent filings, while the Republican National Committee and its related House and Senate fundraising committees, along with super PACs aligned with President Donald Trump and GOP leadership, reported a combined $1 billion to spend over the next few months.

Before taking the helm at the RNC, Gruters was Florida’s GOP state party chair. He is credited with helping increase Republican registration and accelerate Florida’s transformation from a battleground into a reliably red state.

Steve Duprey, who served four terms as the state’s representative on the Republican National Committee, said Gruters’ decision to come to the Granite State is good news for the state GOP.

“When an RNC chair comes to New Hampshire, it underscores the important elections we have here this year. With a U.S. Senate seat Republicans hope to flip, a competitive House seat in the 1st Congressional District and a first-term Democrat up for her first reelection in the 2nd District, these are all good reasons to come,” Duprey said.

“The fact that our committeeman, Bill O’Brien, is also chair of the Rules Committee doesn’t hurt either.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.