Scott Brown, the former Massachusetts senator who took his political aspirations to New Hampshire for a new run at Congress, is not faring as well as hoped, as numerous polls paint his Democratic challenger with a healthy lead.
Mr. Brown still holds a lead among his fellow Republican challengers for the Senate seat, The Hill reported. But he falters by far when put to the test against his upcoming Democratic Party challenger, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
The Hill reported that Ms. Shaheen holds a consistent single-digit lead in nearly every poll that’s been conducted in recent weeks. Mr. Brown’s best news has been that he could claim half of surveyed voters still see him positively — but the other half, not so much.
Among the surveys: A WMUR-UNH poll in early July put Mr. Brown behind Ms. Shaheen by 9 points, while an NBC-Marist poll just a few days ago showed voters as split on Mr. Brown, with half viewing him negatively and half viewing him positively.
“I would be concerned if I was them,” said one New Hampshire GOP strategist, in The Hill. “You don’t ever want to be underwater at this point in a race. … He needs to rekindle some of what made people like him so much, that common man theme that made him so popular when he ran the first time. And I think some of the magic is lost.”
So far, Democrats have held back on the carpetbagger label they could sling on Mr. Brown, for his recent relocation to the state. But Mr. Brown himself has misspoken at various campaign events in the past few weeks, forgetting he’s moved and making mention of his affiliation with Massachusetts rather than New Hampshire, The Hill reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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