Yesterday, former Republican Massachusetts senator Scott Brown declared his intention to run for a Senate seat in New Hampshire against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. After months of speculation and a recent move to his former vacation home in Rye, Brown will officially seek the New Hampshire Republican party’s nomination in September.
Brown has run twice for Senate in Massachusetts. In 2010, he defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts special election held after the death of former senator Ted Kennedy. In 2012, Brown failed to defend his seat against Sen. Elizabeth Warren., D-Mass.
If Brown wins the Sept. 9 Republican primary — beating out a field of candidates that currently includes former Republican New Hampshire senator Bob Smith, a former Republican state senator Jim Rubens and activist Karen Testerman — he will face Shaheen, New Hampshire’s senior senator, in November’s general election.
Shaheen has an extensive background in New Hampshire politics. She served as governor from 1997 to 2003 and has served in the Senate since 2009.
Brown’s new permanent residence in the state will permit him to run this fall. Having spent most of his life in New England, the former senator has strong ties to Massachusetts, where he grew up and attended college.
Colin Reed, Brown’s newly appointed campaign manager, said Brown’s campaign will focus on improving economic performance and addressing federal deficits. Reed also emphasized that Brown’s opposed the Affordable Care Act, unlike Shaheen, who voted for the measure in 2009.
In his 2012 race against Warren, Brown co-signed a “People’s Pledge” strongly discouraging third-party spending, but so far has not mentioned it in his bid for the Republican nomination. Reed refused to address Brown’s current position on campaign spending.
Shaheen has been pressing Brown to limit ads paid for by third-party groups since early March. In a statement on her website, Shaheen called on Brown to sign the pledge again.
Fifteen students interviewed and two faculty members expressed mixed sentiments about the role of the “People’s Pledge” and Brown’s campaign generally. Only two students interviewed recognized the former senator’s name, and many Dartmouth students interviewed were unaware of his candidacy.
College Democrats president Logan Brog ’15 said he thinks the “People’s Pledge” will play an important role in the election, adding that he thinks it would be a mistake for Brown not to sign.
“People from the state of New Hampshire don’t like the idea of outside money pouring in to try and change what should be a decision made by the voters of New Hampshire,” he said.
Government professor Joseph Bafumi said that not agreeing to the pledge could benefit Brown, noting that there are likely many third-party groups willing to spend on his behalf.
Anne Reed-Weston ’16 said she was intrigued by Brown’s recent move to New Hampshire.
“I find it very interesting that he lost a re-election campaign and then relocated so that he could run again,” she said.
A WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll released Thursday showed Shaheen six percentage points ahead of Brown among likely voters, 45 to 39 percent.
