McKesson faced civil penalties totaling $163.25 million over reporting failures related to suspicious orders, with $13.25 million in 2008 and $150 million in 2017, and in 2022 McKesson and other distributors agreed to a $21 billion national settlement over opioid claims, while New Hampshire is set to receive $115 million over 18 years.

From 2006 to 2019, McKesson supplied 149.9 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills to New Hampshire—roughly 29% of the state’s total such shipments—and subsequently faced multiple penalties tied to suspicious orders.

In New Hampshire’s governor’s race, GOP foes are using opioid-related funding disclosures to attack opponent Cinde Warmington, reflecting a broader narrative about accountability and donations in politics.

Sununu has accepted more than $110,000 from opioid industry corporate PACs and has voted on drug advertising and price negotiation measures, including opposition to stricter advertising penalties and to Medicare drug price negotiation, signaling alignment with industry interests.

John E. Sununu’s campaign received a $5,000 June donation from John Hammergren, former McKesson chief executive and a key figure in New Hampshire’s opioid distribution history.

The article connects Sununu’s post-Senate career to healthcare and pharmaceutical firms, including ties to Mallinckrodt and Alvogen and references a 2020 Mallinckrodt settlement in New Hampshire, linking donor affiliations to ongoing opioid crisis settlements.

New Hampshire’s opioid crisis context includes overdose death trends and settlement funds, noting a 44% decline in deaths from 2022 to 2025 and an estimated 2025 death toll around 187 according to state health data.

Hammergren led McKesson for about 18 years and reportedly earned $98 million in 2017 amid heightened regulatory scrutiny over the company’s role in the opioid crisis.