When it was clear that Barack Obama would choose John Kerry to lead the State Department, I wrote that it was tantamount to giving Scott Brown-and the Republican Party-another Senate seat. Brown may have lost his bid for reelection, but he remained popular among Massachusetts voters, and would have been well-positioned for a comeback.
As it turns out, however, Brown won't be back in the Senate anytime soon. NBC News reports that the former senator has decided against running in the special election to replace Kerry:
The special election would have been Brown's third since his initial January 2011 election to the Senate, when he bested Democratic favorite Martha Coakley in an election to fill the seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Brown's election came at the height of the fight over health care reform in Congress, and his victory was seen as the advent of the political influence of the Tea Party movement.
The current contenders, then, are Democratic Representatives Edward Markey and Stephen Lynch-no Republican has stepped forward to run. There's been some indication that former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey would join the fray, but her electoral record leaves much to be desired. Unlike the special election that brought Scott Brown to the fore, this one might actually be an easy get for the Democratic Party. We'll see.
