Scott Brown not ruling out run for office in N.H.
Former senator notes ties to New Hampshire
Scott Brown watched a traditional drum ritual of the Pequot tribe Nashua, N.H., Thursday evening. (AP)aying “I don’t think I’m done with politics,” former Senator Scott Brown stressed his ties to New Hampshire following a speech in Nashua on Thursday and refused to rule out a run for elective office in the Granite State.
Brown, speaking to reporters after delivering the keynote speech at a dinner to mark the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, noted that he owns a home in New Hampshire, has “been a taxpayer” there for 20 years, and has relatives who live in the state.
When asked directly if he would rule out a run for office in New Hampshire, Brown — who lost his reelection bid in Massachusetts in November to current Senator Elizabeth Warren — left his options open.
“I’m not going to rule out anything right now, because I really haven’t thought a heck of a lot about it,” said Brown. The Wrentham resident dashed the hopes of many of the Republican faithful in Massachusetts when he passed on the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State John F. Kerry.
When a reporter said Thursday that “it would be Senator Shaheen’s seat” in New Hampshire, a reference to Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen— who is up for reelection next year — Brown repeated a mantra that inspired supporters during his upset victory in the 2010 special Senate election in the Bay State.
“It’s the people’s seat,” he said.
That line became a rallying cry in his stunning victory over Attorney General Martha Coakley to fill the Senate seat that was long held by the late Edward M. Kennedy and considered a lock to remain in Democratic hands that year.
But Brown stopped short of making any bold pronouncements in Nashua.
“Listen, I know Jeanne,” Brown said. “Certainly, it’s not something I’ve been spending any time really focusing on. I was asked to speak, I’ve been asked to speak at five or six other events coming up. I’m going to come and spend time here as I do every year. And I’m not sure what I'm going to do politically yet.
“I’m just recharging the batteries.”
A spokesman for Brown declined to comment on Thursday, and Brown did not return calls seeking comment.
Jennifer Horn, chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party, said in an e-mail that she had no information about Brown’s future plans.
“However, I would say that NH Republicans represent a broad spectrum of ideas and I am sure that if Sen.Brown chose to run here voters would listen to what he has to say and give him an honest chance,” Horn wrote.
But Clare Kelly, executive director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, was less sanguine.
“We suspect the voters in New Hampshire will reject a candidate that has a record of voting with Wall Street and against the middle class, just as they did in Massachusetts last November,” she said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts GOP declined to comment.
Brown has remained largely out of public view since leaving office in January. He recently accepted a job at the Boston law firm of Nixon Peabody and is working as a Fox News contributor.
He rejected the notion on Thursday that his affiliation with the conservative network might hurt his standing with moderate voters.
“That’s why they hired me, it’s because I am a moderate,” Brown said. “They don’t have a moderate voice in the news media today on any station.”
He also touted his moderate voting record in Washington, calling himself “the least partisan senator” during his tenure who bucked the GOP leadership on nearly half of his votes.
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