RYE, NH – EXCLUSIVE – Scott Brown is on the move.
The former senator from neighboring Massachusetts and 2014 Republican Senate candidate in New Hampshire who later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand for four years President-elect Trump The first administration is seriously considering a run to return to Congress in 2026.
If Brown moves forward and launches a campaign in the coming months, it could potentially lead to a high-profile rematch with the Democratic Party It is. Jeanne Shaheen, in what is likely to be a competitive and costly Senate clash in a key swing state.
The 65-year-old Brown, who competed in nine triathlons this year and averages about 40-50 performances a year as the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Scott Brown and the Diplomats, isn’t just thinking about returning to the Senate.
TIM SCOTT is seeking to expand the Republican Senate majority in the 2026 midterms
Former senator and former ambassador Scott Brown, who is considering a run for Senate in New Hampshire in 2026, competed in nine triathlons in 2024. (Scott Brown)
He has met with various Republican and conservative groups in recent weeks in New Hampshire.
Brown said in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital that he does his “due diligence” and meets with anyone and everyone. So you’ll see me a lot, whether it’s in parades, triathlons, my rock band, meeting and receiving out and really learning.
House Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman unveils plan to regain majority in 2026
And Brown is targeting New Hampshire’s all-Democratic congressional delegation.
“What really makes me angry is how they (President) Joe Biden have basically covered up over the last four years what they did or didn’t do at the border, what they did and didn’t do when it came to inflation “And the more I think about it, the more I think we can do better,” Brown argued.
Brown made headlines in 2010 when the then-senator won a special award in blue-state Massachusetts Election to the US Senate to serve out the remainder of the term of the late longtime Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy.
Former ambassador and former senator Scott Brown speaks with Fox News Digital at one of his political “Backyard BBQ” events in August 2023 in Rye, New Hampshire (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
After losing re-election in 2012 to the current senator. Elizabeth Warren eventually moved Brown to New Hampshire, the state where he spent the early years of his childhood and where his family had roots dating back to colonial times. Months later, he launched a Senate campaign and narrowly lost to Shaheen in the 2014 election.
After hosting nearly every Republican presidential candidate in the 2016 cycle at speaking events that he described as “no bullshit backyard BBQs,” Brown finally endorsed Trump in the weeks leading up to the nation’s first primary in New Hampshire. After Trump was elected president, he appointed Brown as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, where the former senator served for four years.
The House GOP campaign chair is touting home field advantage
When Brown returned to New Hampshire at the end of the first Trump administration, he supported his wife Gail, a former television reporter and anchor, in her run for Congress in 2022.
And the Browns remained politically active in other ways, once again hosting many of the Republican presidential candidates and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at their “Backyard BBQs” during the 2024 presidential cycle.
Former Ambassador and former Senator Scott Brown (left) is accompanied by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as DeSantis campaigned for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on July 30, 2023 in Rye, New Hampshire (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
When asked in May 2023 whether he would consider another run for the Senate, Brown told Fox News Digital “Naturally.”
Now that Brown is considering another Senate run, time is not against him.
Brown jumped in late in the 2014 campaign, just seven months before Election Day.
BROWN HOSTS 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
This time he emphasized: “I have a long runway. I obviously didn’t have that the first time, and I’m going to do what I’ve been doing for almost a decade now: walk around and meet with the participants.”
During his first run for the Senate, which came months after he moved his residence to New Hampshire, he faced repeated accusations that he was a carpetbagger.
Last week, a progressive group in New Hampshire targeted Brown.
Amplify NH claimed in a press release that “the gentleman from Massachusetts is seeking another shot at power by once again casting himself as a Senate candidate for New Hampshire.”
Brown says he’s not worried.
“We have had a house here for over three decades and have been employed here full-time for over a decade. I think this is old news now.”
And he argued that New Hampshire’s congressional delegation “is 100% aligned with Massachusetts.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., speaks at NHTI Concord Community College in Concord, NH, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, before President Joe Biden arrives to deliver remarks on reducing prescription drug costs (AP Photo/Steven Senne) (AP)
While Shaheen ran for re-election in 2020 by around 16 points and Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan won re-election in 2022 by nearly nine points, Senate Republicans are looking ahead to New Hampshire in 2026 as they aim to consolidate their 53-47 majority in the chamber. New Hampshire, along with Georgia and Michigan, is likely to be in the sights of Republicans in the Senate.
Last month, Trump lost New Hampshire, but he narrowed his deficit to just three points in his matchup with Vice President Kamala Harris, compared to a seven-point loss to President Biden in the Granite State in 2020.
And the GOP kept an open gubernatorial seat in party hands — former Sen. Kelly Ayotte succeeded longtime Gov. Chris Sununu — while expanding its majorities in the New Hampshire state House and Senate.
Asked if he would like Trump to join him in the Granite State campaign if he decides to run, Brown said: “Of course, if he has time.”
And looking at Trump, Brown said, “He’s obviously not only helped nationally, he’s helped here in New Hampshire.”
Former ambassador and former senator Scott Brown performs with his rock band Scott Brown and the Diplomats (Scott Brown and the Diplomats)
Shaheen has not yet announced whether she will seek another term in the Senate. This decision is expected to be made at the beginning of the new year.
But Shaheen, a former three-term governor of New Hampshire, will take over as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next month, becoming the first woman to hold one of the two top positions on the powerful body.
Shaheen will also turn 78 next month.
When asked if age was a factor in a possible rematch between Shaheen and Brown, Brown said he likes Shaheen and greatly appreciates her support in his confirmation as ambassador to New Zealand, but added that “that’s certainly her decision.” .
“I’m 65. I can’t believe it. I feel 40. My wife says I act like 12,” he added.
