Ayotte: Scott Brown Would Be ‘Very Strong Candidate’ for Senate in N.H.

Roll Call ^ | 11-8-2013

[ClaytonP]

The Boston Globe reported Friday that national Republicans are actively recruiting former Massachusetts Sen. Scott P. Brown to run again — this time in New Hampshire.

With former Rep. Charles Bass the latest Republican to take a pass on the Senate race, the party is still in search of a top-tier challenger to take on Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran told the Globe that despite the speculation that Brown is simply flirting with a bid, he doesn’t think the former senator “is just fooling around.”

Of course, a successful Brown Senate bid would be nearly unprecedented. Just two senators have ever represented more than one state in the Senate, and it hasn’t happened since the 1870s, according to a list maintained by the Senate Historical Office.

“It will be uphill, no question about it, for him,” former Rep. Jeb Bradley, who also took a pass on this race, told CQ Roll Call. “But I think he’s certainly got as good a chance as any Republican that I can think of to be successful.”

New Hampshire’s other senator echoed that sentiment, believing that Brown would help expand the Senate landscape into New England.

“I served with Sen. Brown, I have a lot of respect for him,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., said inside the Capitol on Tuesday in a brief interview with CQ Roll Call. “It’s up to him whether he’s going to run. But absolutely he’d be a very strong candidate.”

If Brown is planning to run for Senate, he’s not showing it by building any semblance of a campaign operation, according to operatives in the state. And Brown’s trips to Iowa, including one scheduled for next week, aren’t deflating talk that he’s considering a presidential bid.

Those who spoke with CQ Roll Call noted that Brown should come to a conclusion soon, as the appearance of flirting is not often rewarded by Granite State voters. Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committee member from New Hampshire, believes Brown would make an excellent candidate but said he hopes he’s nearing a decision.

“I think if Sen. Brown waits too much longer it will be difficult for him to run,” Duprey said. “Traditionally, New Hampshire voters haven’t liked candidates who do a long dance about whether they’re in or not. The field is wide open, but I would encourage him to make a decision soon.”

Shaheen, who state Republicans conceded is a formidable incumbent, continues to enjoy strong favorability numbers. She led Bass by 17 points in a hypothetical matchup in the WMUR Granite State Poll released last month. But state and national Republicans believe she could be be vulnerable with the right opponent.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire Democrats are ready to go on the offensive against Brown, tying him to Wall Street and an “anti-women agenda.”

“Last year, the Massachusetts voters who knew him best rejected Scott Brown’s record; he shouldn’t expect different results in New Hampshire,” state Democratic Party spokesman Harrell Kirstein said in an email.

The race is rated Democrat Favored by Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

[gusty]

Scot Brown would be a good candidate for NH. New Hampshire is no longer the conservative state that its reputation implies. It is East Vermont. It is more liberal than either NY or NJ. In 2012, among white voters, Romney won NY and NJ, but Obama won the same demographic in NH. It belongs in the same category as the rest of New England, the Northwest, and Iowa. They are not just Blue, but Moonbat Blue.

[Gay State Conservative]

Curious as to when the state starts passing laws like Mass. That is, when will taxes go up enough to be like Mass?

I've wondered that myself.The most heavily populated (and fastest growing) part of the state,the southeast,is only about 30 miles from Boston and,therefore,is basically considered to be a Boston suburb.As a result Boston TV and radio stations run many ads for NH races during election season.These ads,including the ones by Rats,often mention "the New Hampshire promise" which seems to be a "no sales tax,no income tax" pledge.The fact that Rats take this pledge (or claim to,at least) suggests to me that even those who vote Rat for President and Congress don't want the same state taxes that most states have.And many of the voters,as I said,come from Massachusetts...one of the most heavily taxed states in the nation.

[Gay State Conservative]

It belongs in the same category as the rest of New England, the Northwest, and Iowa. They are not just Blue, but Moonbat Blue.

Yours might be a premature proclamation.As recently as 2011 three of their four Congresscritters were Republican as was their Governor and both houses of their state legislature.

[GOPsterinMA]

Shaheen’s a POS. Brown 100% turned against the Tea Party after he got in. I guess this is a situation where 10-20% is better than nothing.

The HUGE problem that NH has is same day voter registration; until that’s fixed, it’ll be MA-North.

[WashingtonSource]

I think this is a good idea, even if he is a RINO. He’s a strong opponent of Obamacare and could potentially deny Democrats control of the Senate by ousing that idiot Jeanne Shaheen.

[gusty]

Then why were they in the small category of states whose white vote went for Obama.

[Alas Babylon!]

Well, there are laws yet to be passed.

One thing that really struck me when I was stationed at Otis AFB...

Every single road construction site, even something as simple as a telephone pole replacement, had to have a rent-a-cop assigned to it. What a waste of cash and policemen! I’m sure the cops love the overtime! In every other state I’ve been to, the traffic keeping role was assigned to a member of the crew who has a Stop/Slow sign.

But I’m still tempted to think that those Mass people will eventually want some service that is going to need serious money and the New Hampshire government won’t be able to provide it without raising more revenue.

[gusty]

As a contractor in the Northeast I can assure you that those cops are not free. The contractor pays for them, and the public pays for them on their utility bill.

[AuH2ORepublican]

“Massholes” always get blamed for turning NH liberal, but the counties that have moved the most towards the Democrats during the past two decades are those along the border with VT, not those across the MA border.

[Impy]

Maybe the “Massholes” are just settling in that part of the state.

Is there any evidence of large numbers of immigrants from Vermont?

[Gay State Conservative]

Then why were they in the small category of states whose white vote went for Obama.

Whites can be Maoists too you know.And about 98% of NH is white.The problem is that so many of those whites originally came from Massachusetts and continued their love affair with "The Dark Side" (Rats,that is).

[campaignPete R-CT]

Maine is very much like Texas.

As you drive north of Bangor, you can go for days before you come to the state border. It is deceptive on the map.

Unless one experiences it first-hand, people do not realize how enormous the state is, especially Aroostook County. It is allmost as big as Massachoosie ... that is big.

[Alas Babylon!]

I was always taught that Georgia was the largest state east of the Mississippi. however, some texts say that Michigan is. Still, Michigan's square miles total is about half of Lakes Huron and Michigan, so land area-wise, Georgia is slightly bigger by about 1100 square miles. Many other states are bigger than Maine, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York and my state of Alabama. Maine is way down there on the list.

	STATE	SQUARE MILES
1	Alaska	570,374
2	Texas	261,914
3	California	155,973
4	Montana	145,556
5	New Mexico	121,365
6	Arizona	113,642
7	Nevada	109,806
8	Colorado	103,730
9	Wyoming	97,105
10	Oregon	96,003
11	Idaho	82,751
12	Utah	82,168
13	Kansas	81,823
14	Minnesota	79,617
15	Nebraska	76,878
16	South Dakota	75,898
17	North Dakota	68,994
18	Missouri	68,898
19	Oklahoma	68,679
20	Washington	66,582
21	Georgia	57,919
22	Michigan	56,809
23	Iowa	55,875
24	Illinois	55,593
25	Wisconsin	54,314
26	Florida	53,997
27	Arkansas	52,075
28	Alabama	50,750
29	North Carolina	48,718
30	New York	47,224
31	Mississippi	46,914
32	Pennsylvania	44,820
33	Louisiana	43,566
34	Tennessee	41,220
35	Ohio	40,953
36	Kentucky	39,732
37	Virginia	39,598
38	Indiana	35,870
39	Maine	30,865
40	South Carolina	30,111
41	West Virginia	24,087
42	Maryland	9,775
43	Vermont	9,249
44	New Hampshire	8,969
45	Massachusetts	7,838
46	New Jersey	7,419
47	Hawaii	6,423
48	Connecticut	4,845
49	Delaware	1,955
50	Rhode Island	1,045

[marron]

He owns a house in Hampton or Rye.

Thanks. I have never let a lack of information stop me from opining.

:)

[campaignPete R-CT]

Maine’s bigness can only be appreciated first hand ... don’t try to fool me with encyclopedia information ... Maine is deceptively LARGE. Seems Like Texas.

[Jim Noble]

He would be a better Senator than Queen Jeanne, IMO.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Go for days ? We drove from the New Brunswick border to Bangor in a couple hours (and in the dark).

[CapnJack]

“He would be a better Senator than Queen Jeanne, IMO.”

I don’t think so. He would be just another “back stabber”.

I’m don’t with the MaLame, Romney, Dole types.

[AuH2ORepublican]

Doubtfull that Bay Staters who work in Lowell or elsewhere north of Boston, or in Manchester or Nashua for that matter, and want to move to NH to escape Mass. taxes, would move all the way to the rural counties along the VT border.

I’m not so sure that the main reason that those counties have been voting Democrat is because of immigration of liberals fron across the state border, although perhaps some Vermonters have crossed the border to enjoy lower taxes and some of the New Yorkers who decide to move to idyllic VT moved to those NH counties instead. It’s possible that the same issues that over the past 25 years have driven Vermonters to swing from largely Republican to overwhelmingly Democrat have had a similar effect on Granite Staters from that area with a similar culture (and a few colleges).

[DemforBush]