Keller: How Trump could be key in potential Brown-Pappas race in New Hampshire
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
Scott Brown, the former Massachusetts state senator who stunned the political establishment by winning a U.S. 365bet官方网站 seat 15 years ago, is back for a third try at returning to the 365bet官方网站.
Brown announced his second run for that office in New Hampshire Wednesday morning.
After losing to Elizabeth Warren in 2012, Brown moved to New Hampshire and lost again, this time to Jeanne Shaheen. But Shaheen isn't running again.
Potential Brown-Pappas race
"I'm going to be that independent thinker," said Brown in an interview with WBZ-TV. He claims the all-Democrat New Hampshire delegation in D.C. needs some partisan balance, something he says his potential opponent, Democratic Congressman Chris Pappas, can't provide. "He's obviously against everything President Trump's trying to do in terms of saving one dollar for example, fighting to stop and close the border," Brown said.
Trump won the 2016 New Hampshire primary but lost the state on election day three times. And with polls showing majority Trump disapproval there, Brown's close ties with Trump create opportunity for Pappas.
"There are a lot of folks in New Hampshire - Democrats, independents and Republicans - that want some basic checks and balances right now, and I'm not sure Scott Brown is going to be able to provide that for us if he's with Donald Trump 100% of the time," Pappas said.
We asked Brown: are there any significant issues on which there's distance between you and the president? "I don't agree with what he did on [former Chief Medical Advisor Anthony] Fauci, keeping him on too long and hiring him, I would have gotten rid of him a long time ago," said Brown.
Says Pappas: "This is a state that is not a state built for political extremists." Is he saying Brown is an extremist? "He is failing out of the gate to show any areas where he's different from Donald Trump," Pappas said.
To which Brown responds: "President Trump's not on the ballot. Chris Pappas is, and I will be."
Trump's impact
Election day 2026 is a long way off, but right now it's looking like a tough election cycle for Republicans outside of deep-red strongholds. So, this mini-debate involving Trump could be the key to a Brown-Pappas race.
If Brown can persuade skeptical independents, he's willing to stand up to Trump on certain things, he can compete.
But as Senator Maggie Hassan showed in her re-election run, a Democrat who can prove they can stand up to their party is tough to beat for federal office in New Hampshire.
