{"id":2533242,"date":"2026-01-12T06:22:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T11:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-aaron-day-the-2016-spoiler-who-could-sink-gop-in-new-hampshire\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T06:25:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T11:25:50","slug":"meet-aaron-day-the-2016-spoiler-who-could-sink-gop-in-new-hampshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-aaron-day-the-2016-spoiler-who-could-sink-gop-in-new-hampshire\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Aaron Day, the 2016 spoiler who could sink GOP in New Hampshire"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmeet-aaron-day-the-2016-spoiler-who-could-sink-gop-in-new-hampshire%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2533242&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Aaron Day,an entrepreneur and chair of the advocacy group Daylight Freedom,is weighing a third\u2011party run for New Hampshire&#8217;s open U.S. Senate seat and says his candidacy could spoil Republican chances. Day, who drew about 18,000 votes (2.4%) as an self-reliant in 2016 and takes credit for GOP losses that year,tells the Washington Examiner that even 2-3% of the vote would be enough to prevent front\u2011runner John E. Sununu from winning. He frames a run as a crusade against a growing &#8220;technocratic surveillance state,&#8221; warning about threats from AI, government surveillance laws, cryptocurrency regulation, and potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fed-inches-closer-to-developing-central-bank-digital-currency\/\" title=\"Fed Inches Closer to Developing Central Bank Digital Currency\">central bank digital currencies<\/a>. Day says he no longer believes he can reform the Republican Party from within and sees this campaign as a vehicle to raise public awareness of those issues. He has a few hundred people on an email list, some prospective volunteers, and encouragement from anti\u2011establishment conservatives; he plans to decide within a month.Republicans view Sununu and Scott brown as primary contenders to take on presumptive Democrat Chris Pappas, and forecasters currently give Democrats a slight edge in the competitive New Hampshire race.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Meet Aaron Day, the 2016 spoiler who could sink Senate GOP hopes in New Hampshire<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2441987\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE &mdash;<\/strong> Republican hopes of flipping a competitive <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-hampshire-senate-race\/\">New Hampshire Senate seat<\/a> could be in jeopardy with the possible entry of a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/third-party\/\">third-party<\/a> candidate who tells the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> he&rsquo;s prepared to mount a spoiler campaign to amplify his anti-technocratic message.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Day, an entrepreneur and chair of an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/daylightfreedom.org\/\">advocacy group<\/a> that promotes liberty, is no stranger to being a political disruptor. He garnered nearly 18,000 votes, or 2.4%, in the 2016 Senate race and claims credit for GOP incumbent Kelly Ayotte losing to now-Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) by just 1,000 votes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4413489\/ex-lawmakers-comeback-bids-2026-midterms\/\">Old seats, new stakes: Ex-lawmakers eye comebacks in midterm elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4413224\/democrats-call-release-dnc-2024-election-autopsy\/\">Democrats call for release of DNC&#8217;s 2024 election autopsy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4393546\/will-new-york-12th-congressional-district-election-choose-israel-supporter\/\">Will this Upper West Side-based House district elect a full-throated Israel supporter?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4409526\/kai-trump-wants-republicans-democrats-meet-in-middle\/\">KAI TRUMP WANTS DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS TO &lsquo;MEET IN THE MIDDLE&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this November&rsquo;s midterm elections, Republican front-runner John E. Sununu is facing Scott Brown &mdash; both former GOP senators &mdash; for the GOP nomination to take on presumptive Democratic nominee Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and replace retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gops-youngkin-surges-as-democrat-mcauliffe-stumbles-into-home-stretch-before-election-day\/\" title=\"GOP\u2019s Youngkin Surges as Democrat McAuliffe Stumbles into Home Stretch Before Election ...\">blue-leaning state<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the past, I ran to be a spoiler. I&rsquo;ll be clear: if my name is on the ballot, Sununu won&rsquo;t win,&rdquo; Day said. &ldquo;If I get 2% or 3% of the vote, that&rsquo;s it for him.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In a more than 30-minute phone interview with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, Day described his consideration for a third-party run as a crusade to combat an existential threat to global society and &ldquo;free will itself&rdquo; that&rsquo;s being exacerbated by AI. For the last three years, Day has been focused on fighting technocracy, a nearly century-old ideological movement where scientists and engineers control political institutions and individual freedoms.<\/p>\n<p>His mission, should he choose to run, remains the same from his Senate campaign a decade ago: undermine the GOP nominee to get his point across. But his purpose for doing so has changed drastically from his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fosters.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/congressional\/2016\/11\/09\/independent-day-takes-credit-for-ayotte-loss\/24582058007\/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=true&amp;gca-epti=z119991d00----v119991d--99--b--99--&amp;gca-ft=182&amp;gca-ds=sophi\">past desire<\/a> to reshape the state&rsquo;s Republican Party.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4409499\/venezuela-oil-tanker-seizures-us-strategy-trump\/\">HOW TRUMP&rsquo;S OIL TANKER SEIZURES FIT IN THE US-VENEZUELA STRATEGY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I still naively thought in 2016 that I could affect things politically, and I actually thought that there was a fundamental difference between the two parties and that there was the potential to influence the Republican Party from a liberty perspective,&rdquo; Day said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that at all anymore.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Day plans to make a final decision on a campaign in the coming month. He characterized his current interest level as &ldquo;very strongly considering,&rdquo; has several hundred people who&rsquo;ve signed up for an email list, a &ldquo;handful&rdquo; of wannabe volunteers, and has been encouraged to run by &ldquo;MAGA types&rdquo; who are &ldquo;very frustrated by the Sununu family influence.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Brown campaign declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>The Sununu campaign said Sununu and Pappas were the only viable general election candidates. Sununu leads Brown in the polls in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3900441\/sununu-scott-brown-grassroots-backlash-new-hampshire-senate\/\">contentious rivalry<\/a> and narrowly trails Pappas in head-to-head matchups compared to Brown&rsquo;s double-digit deficit to Pappas.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;New Hampshire voters know that just Chris Pappas and John Sununu have a chance to be U.S. senator, and only John Sununu will be an independent voice for Granite Staters who will always put New Hampshire first,&rdquo; Sununu spokesman Mike Schrimpf said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Nonpartisan election forecasters give Democrats the slight edge in the Granite State, just one of several competitive Senate races in the 2026 cycle as Republicans seek to maintain their three-seat majority. Flipping New Hampshire would ease pressure on maintaining toss-up seats held by Republicans in Maine and North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>Establishment-backed Sununu, the brother of former New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, lost reelection to a second Senate term in 2008 to Shaheen. Brown, who aligns with President Donald Trump&rsquo;s base, was ousted from a Massachusetts Senate seat in 2012 by now-Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and lost in New Hampshire to Shaheen in 2014.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4410450\/four-takeaways-house-oversight-minnesota-fraud-hearing\/\">FOUR TAKEAWAYS FROM HOUSE OVERSIGHT&rsquo;S HEATED MINNESOTA FRAUD HEARING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Pappas campaign declined to comment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aaron Day is considering a third-party independent run for New Hampshire&rsquo;s open Senate seat. (Photo courtesy of Aaron Day).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-day-s-crusade-against-a-technocratic-surveillance-state\">Day&rsquo;s crusade against a &lsquo;technocratic surveillance state&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Day has &ldquo;never voted for Trump,&rdquo; but he&rsquo;s also &ldquo;never voted for a Democrat.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>He branded Pappas a &ldquo;party line technocrat,&rdquo; Sununu a &ldquo;stereotypical technocrat,&rdquo; and held back on labels for Brown because he &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t have a chance.&rdquo; Day took particular issue with Sununu, whom he accused of long promoting a government surveillance state through supporting laws like the Patriot Act and for Congress passing <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tsa.gov\/realid\/about-realid\">REAL ID<\/a> requirements under his tenure, though Sununu <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/05\/06\/us\/mandate-for-id-meets-resistance-from-states.html\">opposed<\/a> the REAL ID requirements and later pushed for stronger civil liberty protections under the Patriot Act.<\/p>\n<p><strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/4362775\/trump-first-year-report-card-promise-keeper-or-nightmare-failure\/\">TRUMP FIRST YEAR REPORT CARD: A- PROMISE KEEPER OR &lsquo;NIGHTMARE&rsquo; FAILURE<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During the interview, Day repeatedly invoked the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/bemagazine.org\/video-the-newsroom-america-is-not-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-anymore-but-it-could-be\/\">viral clip<\/a> from HBO&rsquo;s <em>The Newsroom<\/em> television series when actor Jeff Daniels, playing a TV news host, rattles off a list of stats during a public forum on why the character believes &ldquo;America is not the greatest country in the world anymore, but it could be.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He made the point that you can&rsquo;t improve unless you understand and accept the reality of the current situation. We are living in a massive state of denial,&rdquo; Day said. &ldquo;And the massive state of denial that we&rsquo;re in is&hellip; this technocratic surveillance state, which is growing unchecked under Trump.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Under Trump last year, Congress passed the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3475983\/trump-cryptocurrency-genius-act-signed-into-law\/\">GENIUS Act<\/a>, the country&rsquo;s first major cryptocurrency legislation, which Day also took issue with.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Day lost in the Libertarian Party primary for New Hampshire governor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/day2026.com\/about\">in a bid<\/a> &ldquo;to expose corporate-government collusion&rdquo; and in 2024 ran as a write-in Republican candidate for president to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >highlight perceived threats posed<\/a> by central bank digital currencies, such as if the Federal Reserve would issue a digital currency in addition to physical money.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3865021\/senate-gop-embraces-john-sununu-independent-streak-new-hampshire-race\/\">SENATE GOP EMBRACES SUNUNU&rsquo;S &lsquo;INDEPENDENT STREAK&rsquo; IN NEW HAMPSHIRE RACE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Day considers his potential Senate run as an extension of his presidential campaign to raise awareness against such digital currencies, known as CBDCs.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our rights, our privacy, have been routinely compromised, and Sununu has been at the heart of this,&rdquo; Day said. &ldquo;Because of the urgency of the matter, and because of the importance of the Senate race, and because of Sununu&rsquo;s involvement in passing some of the most pro-technocracy legislation ever, I think that this is going to be an opportunity for me to substantially raise awareness on this issue.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aaron Day may spoil GOP Senate bid in NH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2533243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/aaron-day.png?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33169,70640,6203,70641,70642],"class_list":["post-2533242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-2016-election","tag-aaron-day","tag-gop","tag-new-hampshire-politics","tag-spoiler-candidate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/aaron-day.png?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2533242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2533242"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2533242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2533250,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2533242\/revisions\/2533250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2533243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2533242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2533242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2533242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}