What Now, Scott Brown?
Associated Press
What happens to Scott Brown now?
If he’d won his New Hampshire Senate race Tuesday night, his chutzpah in moving there so quickly after losing a high-profile contest to Elizabeth Warren would have been seen as shrewd—an audacious move that paid off. His story would have blended in with the larger national narrative in which Republicans took back control of the Senate, picked up seats in the House, and won a bunch of gubernatorial races.
His campaign followed the same playbook as that of many Republican challengers by tying his Democratic opponent to President Obama. But Tuesday’s Republican wave was not enough to carry him into office. There will be many who defend Brown’s move to New Hampshire, even though it didn’t go his way. He forced Democrats to defend a seat that probably wouldn’t have been as competitive otherwise, spending dollars there they could have put to use elsewhere. (The race against Jeanne Shaheen was New Hampshire’s most expensive campaign ever.)
Of course, the blunt downside to taking big risks is being embarrassed when they don’t pan out. Harry Reid’s communications director, who has little reason for frivolity today, found some comfort in Brown’s loss.
The fact that we got our butts kicked up and down the block only makes it *more* hilarious that Scott Brown lost. #smallvictories
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) November 5, 2014
The jokes at Brown’s expense Tuesday night had a running theme:
His voice low, a distracted Scott Brown rehearses his Maine accent. — Molly Redden (@mtredden) November 5, 2014
Scott Brown is now running for office in Canada.
— Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) November 5, 2014
Lucky for Scott Brown there’s a Senate race in Vermont in 2016. — Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) November 5, 2014
The “In what state will Scott Brown run for office next?” joke got a bit tired, sure. But it does raise the question: What (or where) is Brown’s next move?
Does he continue to do what he started doing after his loss to Elizabeth Warren and sit on a few corporate boards, appear on Fox News, and audition repeatedly for Cheap Trick? Does he move back to Massachusetts? In his concession speech, he suggested otherwise, saying, “I feel like a lucky man to live in this great state and call it home.” Does he do something wacky?
Scott Brown announces campaign to play Samantha’s love interest in SATC 3
— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) November 5, 2014
Okay, maybe something less wacky? A lot is up in the air, but it seems certain at least that Brown is out of the running for Massachusetts offices. Brown confirmed to reporters after his loss that he’ll stay in New Hampshire, but said it was too early to think about his political future, telling the Boston Globe:
“I’m going to go have a beer, and go get some rest and hit the gym tomorrow and play the guitar, and spend some time with the family.”
He might be stranded in a new state, but some Scott Brown-y things never change, and that plan is pretty darn Scott Brown-y.
