KEENE, NH – Keene’s former Mayor and a 2022 Republican candidate for New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District has announced he won’t be running in 2024.

In March, Democratic incumbent Annie Kuster announced that she would not be seeking reelection, prompting speculation on who would run to fill her seat. That includes former Keene Mayor George Hansel.

Hansel ran for the republican nomination for the seat in 2022 but lost to Bob Burns. After Kuster’s announcement Hansel told WKBK that he was considering a run but would only do so if he saw a legitimate path forward.

Hansel announced his decision in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Monday morning, and endorsed a candidate who recently announced he was running.

“Instead, I will be focusing my attention on helping like-minded candidates at all levels get elected to preserve our state’s unrivaled quality of life,” the post says. “That work starts today with my whole-hearted endorsement of Vikram Mansharamani to represent NH-CD2.”

Hansel went on to say that Mansharamani, who announced his candidacy a couple of weeks ago, is the type of person needed to shake things up in Washington DC.

“He’s a big-thinker and will ensure the New Hampshire way and message is heard across our nation,” Hansel said. “I look forward to the day that Vikram takes back this seat for New Hampshire and the citizens of CD2.”

Burns announced earlier this month that he’s running for New Hampshire’s Executive Council.