New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu will appear at a fund-raiser for Massachusetts GOP gubernatorial hopeful Chris Doughty, giving the Wrentham businessman’s campaign, seen as a longshot bid, newfound credibility.
The fund-raiser will be held Aug. 3 at a Marriott hotel in Peabody for Doughty, who is battling a Donald Trump-endorsed candidate, former state representative Geoff Diehl.
Sununu and Doughty first met in May at a Republican Governor’s Association event in Nashville, where they discussed electrical rates and the electrical grid, according to spokespeople for both Sununu and Doughty.
Sununu has a complicated relationship with former president Donald Trump, who endorsed Diehl in October. A former GOP nominee for US Senate who secured his party’s endorsement with an overwhelming vote at the state GOP convention, Diehl led Doughty by nearly 40 points in one June poll.
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He is being advised by Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump adviser, who told conservative talk show host Howie Carr in February that the former president had tasked him with finding a primary challenger to oust Sununu.
Diehl spokeswoman Amanda Orlando declined to comment on Sununu’s involvement in Doughty’s race.
The Granite State governor has already headlined gubernatorial fund-raisers this cycle for former governor Paul LePage’s campaign in Maine and New Haven businessman and onetime Republican nominee Bob Stefanowski’s campaign in Connecticut, spokesman Ben Vihstadt told the Globe.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to discuss the close relationship between our two states and how we can help bring greater economic prosperity to the region,” Doughty said in a release announcing the fund-raiser.
In the past, Sununu has held joint fund-raisers with Governor Charlie Baker, but Vihstadt said he is not sure the two governors have discussed support for Doughty.
Doughty spokeswoman Holly Robichaud said the campaign isn’t actively courting Baker’s support, who she said has made it clear he is not getting involved in the primary.
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Tickets for the fund-raiser, which was planned around Sununu’s attendance, will start at $250 a head.
While Doughty, who is mostly self-funding his campaign, leads Diehl in fund-raising and Diehl leads Doughty in the polls, surveys show both face long odds of beating Attorney General Maura Healey, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor. The South End Democrat has a $5.3 million war chest and has faced no active party challengers in the Sept. 6 primary since her last remaining opponent exited the race.
Samantha J. Gross can be reached at samantha.gross@globe.com. Follow her @samanthajgross.