Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown was in New Hampshire at the end of last week to join in the New Hampshire GOP’s holiday party extravaganza. Along with meeting and greeting Granite State politicos and pundits, Brown was met with some 100 protestors demonstrating against a speculated Senate run.
Brown, however, made no indication that he’s any closer to making a decision on sparking a new campaign than he was months ago.
“Moving up here is personal, and I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with my family, and my mom in particular, so that’s about it,” Brown told reporters as noted by NPR.
According to Politico, many of those who descended upon Nashua, NH were pro-gun activists that strikingly outnumbered the amount of spectators who paid $50 to hear the former Massachusetts Senator.
It’s thought that Brown, a middle of the road Republican with leftward-leaning views towards gun control and also the likes of abortion, is the GOP’s best shot at unseating Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Having also served a stint as Governor of New Hampshire, Shaheen boasts the distinction of being the New England battleground state’s first woman Senator and Governor, as well as the first Democratic Senator since 1980.
But as a notable swing state, New Hampshire is privy to raising either a red or blue flag, and therefore Brown’s chances of unseating Shaheen are uncertain. A potential Brown bid for Senator will without question be accompanied with cries of carpetbagging – a term used to describe one who hails from one place but runs for office in another.
Brown recently sold his home in Weymouth, Mass. and intends on establishing full residency in his second home in Rye, N.H. Whether that equates to another run in the federal bicameral legislature remains to be seen.
In 2010, Brown won the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts vacated by Ted Kennedy after the longtime “lion of the Senate” passed away. He ran for a full Senate term in 2012 but was soundly defeated by Elizabeth Warren, who now is being near-universally praised by Democrats urging her to make a presidential run in 2016.
