Former MA Sen. Scott Brown is running again for US Senate in New Hampshire
Former Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Scott Brown entered the race for New Hampshire Senate on June 25, saying he wants a 'better America.'
Brown, a Republican, will be challenging U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-NH, to replace three-term Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who announced her retirement in March.
'My life has been the American story, but I worry about what America is going to look like iin the future, for my four grandchildren — and all of yours,' Brown said in his announcement video. 'In Washington, we haven't been represented by the right people.'
Brown said in a post on social media that he is running 'to restore common sense, keep our border secure, and fight for our New Hampshire values.' He praised President Donald Trump extensively in the video.
The announcement comes months after Brown first indicated he was looking at another run for Senate.
Brown was a U.S. senator from Massachusetts from 2010 to 2012, after serving as both a Massachusetts state senator and representative. After losing re-election to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., he moved to New Hampshire and was the 2014 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in the Granite State. He lost that race to Shaheen.
From 2017 to 2020, Brown was the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa under Trump.
Brown now lives in Rye, New Hampshire.
He is also the lead singer and guitarist for the rock band Scott Brown and the Diplomats.
So far, Pappas is the only other majored declared candidate in the race.
While Trump publicly indicated he would support former NH Gov. Chris Sununu running for the seat, Sununu said he would not run in April.
First-term Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-NH, also indicated interest in running but later said she wouldn't.
In his announcement, Brown took shots at Pappas, saying he wants a 'better title.'
'For four years, Chris Pappas has stood with Joe Biden as he opened the border, drove up the cost of everything and made life simply unaffordable,' he said.
Pappas responded to Brown's campaign announcement in a statement.
'I got into this race because Granite Staters made it clear they want a senator grounded in their values. They know where I stand – taking on special interests to lower prescription drug costs, pushing to find bipartisan solutions to stop predatory companies from scamming veterans, and fighting to lower taxes for small businesses and families,' Pappas said. 'Meanwhile, Scott Brown stands with corporate special interests, supports efforts to strip away health care coverage from tens of thousands of Granite Staters, and backs President Trump's reckless tariffs that New Hampshire small businesses are speaking out against every single day. While Scott Brown looks for yet another opportunity to do Wall Street's bidding and blindly support President Trump and his agenda, I'll always put New Hampshire first.'
New Hampshire elections are often close and the open seat race is likely to garner national attention as control of the U.S. Senate is tight. New Hampshire has a Republican trifecta in state government (governor, House, Senate) but is represented by all Democrats federally.
The National Republican Senate Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the Senate, has said it believes New Hampshire has a 'favorable political environment' for Republicans in this race.
"Scott Brown is right that Democrats like Chris Pappas are out-of-touch with Granite Staters. New Hampshire is in play for Republicans in 2026, and we play to win," said NRSC Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia in a statement.
The New Hampshire Democratic Party called Brown a 'Trump loyalist.'
'Scott Brown is a Trump loyalist running for Senate to do the bidding of Wall Street and big corporations and support Trump's reckless agenda of chaotic tariffs, gutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and pushing an extreme abortion agenda,' said NHDP Chairman Ray Buckley in a statement. 'New Hampshire voters rejected Brown once before, and they will reject him again.'
As of June 5, The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the New Hampshire U.S. Senate election as 'Lean Democratic,' and Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales rated it 'Battleground Democratic.'
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Scott Brown to battle Chris Pappas for US Senate seat in NH
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